Councillor cries foul over MACC's conduct again

Source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/115846 (Andrew Ong, 25/10/2009)
Kajang municipal councillor Tan Boon Hwa is again crying foul over how he was treated by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers during his interrogation in July. His latest complaint was based on de facto law minister Nazri Abdul Aziz's statement in the Dewan Rakyat that witnesses or suspects who are not arrested cannot be treated like detainees. In his reply during question time on Oct 20, Nazri said witnesses should not be "controlled" or have their movements followed by MACC officers. But in Tan's case, he was allegedly tailed by MACC officers wherever he went while being held for questioning overnight at the Selangor MACC headquarters in Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam, on July 15. The MACC 'escorts' even followed him to the toilet and pantry. Tan claimed that one officer had tried to eavesdrop on his telephone conversation with his family members. "I told him I was just letting my family know I won't be released that night. "But the officer said I was lying and that he understood Mandarin," he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur. This continued until the following day, claimed Tan, when he was having breakfast with another witness in the pantry. "I was speaking in Mandarin to another witness, but the officers stopped us and forced us to speak in Bahasa Malaysia," he said.
Lawyer: No remedy
Meanwhile, Segambut MP and Tan's legal counsel Lim Lip Eng said based on Nazri's revelation in the Dewan Rakyat, what MACC did to his client was illegal. "It is clear cut that they were against the law, or maybe, the officers don't know the law," he said. Lim added that he would send a letter of demand tomorrow to the MACC to request for an identification parade so his client could pick out the officers. However, he complained that there appeared to be no remedy prescribed in the Malaysian-Anti Corruption Commission Act 2009 for this, other than reporting to the commission's complaints committee. Tan was called in by the Selangor MACC as a witness in the ongoing probe against Pakatan Rakyat state reps for alleged misappropriation of state funds. Previously, he claimed that he was threatened during the marathon 15-hour interrogation session.