‘Trespassing’ duo walk out of police station
Two Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) students, who were detained for two days by the police for allegedly trespassing onto Universiti Malaya campus, have been released this afternoon.
Ong Jing Cheng and Yap Heng Lung, who are members of student activist group Dema (Malaysia Youth and Students Democratic Movement), spent two nights at the Pantai police station in Kuala Lumpur.
They were released at 4pm today without any charge.
The duo, who are graduate students in Penang’s USM, were stopped by a group of security officers near the Academy of Islamic Studies in UM on Sunday night.
Upon checking, they found a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Najib Razak entitled ‘Making a street safe’, on their motorcycle.
Suspecting that they were up to mischief, the officers contacted the police. The duo were taken to the nearby Pantai police station and detained under section 447 of the Penal Code for alleged trespassing.
Section 447 carries a six-month jail sentence, a maximum fine of RM3,000, or both.
The students however claimed that they went to UM at 8pm to visit a friend.
Yesterday, the police obtained a two-day remand order from the Jalan Duta Magistrates Court to facilitate their investigations. The police had initially asked for a four-day remand period.
According to the police, that the duo had refused to give their statements and they needed time to investigate them.
Authorities slammed for power abuse
Dema has slammed the authorities for abuse of power as universities are considered “open zone for the public”.
It said that the two students were visiting a friend on campus, therefore it was unreasonable for the UM security officers to accuse them of trespassing.
“The police should have been impartial when carrying out their duties. In this case, the police were biased, detaining Ong and Yap without proper investigation,” said Dema.
It is believed that the arrest could be linked to a recent case where two UM students were charged with trespass, arson and vandalism.
