Kelantan Sultan's wife in hospital to evade police

The Kelantan Sultan was also forcefully warded at the same hospital
Police believe the attempted murder on a Kelantan palace guard last Friday was part of a conspiracy to assassinate Kelantan Regent Tengku Muhammad Faris Ismail Petra.

Frankie D'Cruz, The Malay Mail

KOTA BARU: The Raja Perempuan Kelantan Tengku Anis Tengku Abdul Hamid  (pic above) has been holed up at a hospital here since last night to evade police arrest and to be by the side of her husband, the Sultan of Kelantan, Tuanku Ismail Petra, who was reportedly forcibly warded there.
She told The Malay Mail by telephone this morning that the Sultan was being held against his will and that the police had ignored his orders to take him back to the palace.
Tengku Anis, who spent most the night on the floor outside Royal Ward on Level 8 of the Universiti Sains Malaysia hospital, later managed to enter the ward and lock herself in.
Meanwhile, the Sultan's lawyers, Datuk Mohamed Haaziq Pillay and Gobind Singh Deo, arrived here this morning to seek the Sultan's release from hospital.
Haaziq said they will file a habeas corpus writ in the Kuala Lumpur High Court if they fail to get their client's release.
Tengku Anis, relating her ordeal last night, claimed that the police had allegedly abused her and "pulled me like a cow" in an attempt to take her to the police station last night.
She said in the incident about 7.45pm last night outside the Istana Mahkota in Kubang Kerian, heavily armed police's Special Action Squad (UTK) personnel in balaclavas stopped the entourage accompanying the Sultan to the Ismail Petra Airport in Pengkalan Chepa.
They were on their way to the airport in a second attempt yesterday to send the ruler for follow-up treatment in Singapore.
"We were all so frightened when the police confronted us," said Tengku Anis.
"UTK personnel stormed our car and forcibly tried to remove my husband which resulted in a scuffle.
"My husband kept telling me that he wanted to return to the palace, but they (police) whisked him away to the Universiti Sains Malaysia hospital.
"They dragged me out of the vehicle and pushed me all over the place, including at the hospital, when they shoved me into the lift as my husband was being taken to the ward."
She said she spent the night on the floor outside the royal ward. "They would not allow me to be with my husband despite my pleas that I fear for his safety.
"Furthermore, if I leave the hospital, they will arrest me."
"Asked why police wanted to quiz her, she said: "I don't know... I just don't know..."

Meanwhile, her first son, Tengku Temenggong, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry (pic above), told The Malay Mail after being freed last night from a police station, that they did not inform him why he was being questioned.
He was at the police station for more than four hours, during which, police recorded his details without specifying why he was being held in the first place.
Tengku Fakhry, 32, said he also feared for his father's safety and that the family is looking at ways to be by his side.
He confirmed that his handgun and that of his bodyguard's were seized by the police at the palace earlier.
Police were not available for comment but sources said that the seizure of the weapons could be linked to the shooting of a palace guard by an unknown man at Kampung Sungai Nyior, Tumpat, early last Saturday.
The guard, Ramli Mohamed, 50, is being treated at the intensive care unit of the Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II here.
Tengku Fakhry said he find it difficult to understand why he had to be quizzed about a Press conference, an hour before detention, on the failure to send the Sultan to Singapore for medical check-up.
He had told reporters then that the charted aircraft to fly the Sultan to the republic was refused permission to land at the airport here, adding that the airport authorities issued the order to ban it from landing and picking up the ruler. It was scheduled to take off at 11.30am.
Following this, Tengku Fakhry had arranged to take his father on a commercial flight to the KLIA in Sepang and subsequently on another flight to Singapore.
The Sultan returned two months ago from a nine-month treatment for a heart ailment at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.
Besides Tengku Fakhry, police also detained the Sultan's two doctors, a physiotherapist and eight bodyguards. Till lunch time, they were still at the police station.
The doctors were identified as Kolonel Dr Mohamed Razin Kamarulzaman and Dr Lim Choon Hai, and the physiotherapist as Roslin Ngah.
Tengku Fakhry had been involved in a battle with his elder brother, the Regent of Kelantan, Tengku Muhammad Faris, after the former was dropped from the State Succession Council.
Last March, the ruler's private secretary, Datuk Wan Hashim Wan Daud, was briefly held by police over a statement that the Regent had been removed from his post.

Police: Guard knew of alleged plot to kill Regent
KUALA LUMPUR: Police believe the attempted murder on a Kelantan palace guard last Friday was part of a conspiracy to assassinate Kelantan Regent Tengku Muhammad Faris Ismail Petra (pic above).
The Malay Mail was informed that it was for this reason that police detained the Regent's younger brother, Tengku Temenggong Kelantan Tengku Muhammad Fakhry, and his bodyguards outside Istana Mahkota in Kubang Kerian about 7.30pm yesterday.
Muhammad Fakhry and his bodyguards were released later but police seized firearms found on them.
The Malay Mail was also informed that investigations into the shooting of 50-year-old palace guard,Ramli Mohamed, revealed that he was targeted as he knew of the alleged assassination plot.
The former soldier was shot in the chest by two men in the midnight incident as he was riding home on his motorcycle near Tumpat after completing his shift. He is being treated at a hospital in Kota Baru.