Police deny arrest, mistreatment of students involved in rally

Borneo Post

a day ago

Kasim
KOTA KINABALU (June 24): Police have denied allegations that two students involved in the Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0 anti-corruption movement were arrested, as claimed by Borneo Komrad activist Mukmin Nantang in a Facebook post.
Kota Kinabalu District Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Kasim Muda clarified that the two students were only called to the Kota Kinabalu District Police Headquarters (IPD) to provide statements regarding a police report they had previously lodged.
Kasim said the report was related to an incident during the rally in which a student's vehicle was allegedly doused with acid.
'After giving statements about the acid incident, the students were also asked to provide further statements as part of the investigation into the organisation of the peaceful rally,' he said.
He stressed that there was no arrest or mistreatment involved.
'The police strongly deny allegations that the two students were arrested or physically abused. There was no issue of arrest or any form of violence,' he said when contacted.
Kasim also explained that the police had only advised the students not to record, live-stream, or take photos while inside the police station.
'We told them not to go live, not to record, or take pictures, that's all. There was no rude action as alleged,' he added.
He further stated that calling the students in for questioning was part of the standard investigation procedure, especially since one of them was identified as the organiser or chairman of the rally.
Earlier, Mukmin claimed in a social media post that Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Suara Mahasiswa president Muhamad Fadhil Muhamad Kasim and another student, Aliff Danial Badrul Akmal Hisham, were detained when they appeared at the Kota Kinabalu IPD to have their statements recorded.
Mukmin also alleged that Fadhil had experienced physical violence, including being beaten and shouted at by officers, an accusation firmly denied by the authorities.
The police are continuing their investigations and have urged the public not to spread unverified information that could compromise the integrity of the process.