KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7 —Johor CID deputy director Asst Comm Nor Azizan Anan denied today that Ahmad Abd Jalil, the youth under probe for criticising the state Ruler, had been forced to confess to the crime while under police interrogation."I don't think so," ACP Azizan told The Malaysian Insider when contacted today.
"We are not the 'old school' police anymore. We do not force confessions."
ACP Azizan also insisted that Ahmad is in safe hands and will not be ill-treated by the police, despite earlier concerns expressed by the youth's family that he may be hauled to the palace.
"Of course he is in safe hands. I've already promised the family that he is being looked after," he said.
He confirmed that Ahmad was remanded a further three days from yesterday until tomorrow under Section 233 (1)(b) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for his Facebook insult against the Johor Sultan.
Section 233 deals with an "improper use of network facilities or network service, etc".
Section 233(1)(b) stipulates that "a person who initiates a communication using any applications service, whether continuously, repeatedly or otherwise, during which communication may or may not ensue, with or without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any person at any number or electronic address, commits an offence".
The offence carries a maximum fine of RM50,000, or maximum one-year jail term, or both.
The convicted offender shall also be liable to a further fine RM1,000 for every day during which the offence is continued after conviction.
ACP Azizan was today responding to a report on news portal Malaysiakini this morning which quoted lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri as claiming that Ahmad had told his parents yesterday that he was forced to make the confession.
“Ahmad told his parents that he was constantly interrogated and forced to confess that he had insulted the sultan, but had refused to comply.
“Yet, until today, Ahmad has not been told how or in which posting he had offended the Johor ruler," Fadiah was quoted as saying.
When asked to specify which Facebook posting by Ahmad was deemed offensive and how many he had made, ACP Azizan said the matter was still under investigation.
Ahmad was detained last Friday for a sedition probe over his alleged Facebook insult against the Johor Sultan and kept under remand for three days until Monday.
According to Ahmad’s lawyer on Saturday, the police had informed the youth that he was being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 for the offence.
But when his remand expired on Monday and a Johor magistrate declined a police application for an extension, the 27-year-old quantity surveyor was rearrested under a different law, despite protests from his family members.
ACP Azizan said, however, that the police had every right to make the second arrest, pointing out that they had not begun their probe against Ahmad under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 at the time.
"We can arrest at any time and that day when he was released (Monday), it was because we were not granted remand on the Sedition Act but under the Communications and Multimedia Act, we had not yet started investigations," he said.
ACP Azizan also confirmed that news portals The Malaysian Insider and Malaysiakini are under probe for their coverage of Ahmad's arrest.
According to a Berita Harian report yesterday, the probe was following two police reports lodged by state police on articles carried by the two news portals regarding the arrest.
"On the arrest, The Malaysian Insider and Malaysiakini published articles on the investigation and arrests last Saturday and Sunday.
"Following the publication, the Johor police lodged two reports on the articles and an investigation is being carried out under Section 500 of the Penal Code," ACP Azizan was quoted as saying in the Malay daily.
He told The Malaysian Insider today that this writer, as well as Ahmad's family members, would be called in for questioning soon.
Section 500 of the Penal Code, which outlines the penalty for defamation, stipulates that "whoever defames another shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both."
In an SMS to The Malaysian Insider last night, a sibling of Ahmad's acknowledged the police's plans to haul in the family for questioning.
"But it's OK, we got a very good lawyer now. Our family decided that this is an effort to free up our Johor police force from the 'bad influence'.
"Some casualty maybe (reputation, job, business etc.), but we do for the betterment of our nation (all races work together towards justice and rule of law for all including the rulers)," the sibling said.
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