Police procedures in remanding criminal suspects for investigations are open to serious abuse and should be investigated immediately, a human rights organisation said today.

Suaram coordinator S Arutchelvam said the latest incident of such an abuse was the case of a businessman who was remanded for 143 days in eight different lock-ups in three northern states before he was finally placed under a Restricted Residence order.

Arutchelvam said that Section 117 under the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows the police, with orders from a magistrate, to remand a suspect for no more than 14 days for further investigation was clearly abused in the case of Mohamed Samsudin Mohamed Ibrahim.

He told malaysiakini that in Mohamed Samsudin's case, the Section 117 procedure was misused to detain him without any trial in a court of law.

"During the remand period, Mohamed Samsudin was brought from one magistrate to another in the states of Kedah, Penang and Perak for a further detention period pending investigations," he said.

"In his entire period of detention, he was interrogated six times," added Arutchelvam.

Suaram has sent letters to the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), the Home Affairs ministry, the police headquarters, the Bar Council as well as to the minister in the prime minister's department Dr Rais Yatim regarding this matter, said Arutchelvam.

Planned hijack

He added that Suaram hoped immediate investigations will be undertaken by the concerned authorities on police abuse of such powers as well as on Mohamed Samsudin's human rights violations.

Mohamed Samsudin's ordeal began when he was arrested on Dec 22, 1999, along with two other friends in Alor Setar, Kedah for allegedly being involved in a gang which was planning to hijack a lorry laden with gold bars.

According to a table compiled by Suaram, Mohamed Samsudin was then kept in remand at the Alor Setar police headquarters for 34 days and taken before magistrates in three different districts for a total of six times for remand extensions.

He was then held at various lock-ups in Penang for 46 days and brought before five different magisrates.

Following this, Mohamed Samsudin was kept in four different lock-ups in Perak for 63 days and was brought before at least four magistrates for extensions of his remand order.

Arutchelvam said that finally on May 12 last year, Mohamad Samsudin was held under Emergency Ordinance for 60 days in Kampung Tawas, Perak.

Long remand

Beginning July 11 last year, he was placed under a Restricted Residence order for two years in Jerantut, Pahang. The restriction order stated that Mohamed Samsudin planned with his friends to hijack the lorry in Kuala Kedah, Kedah in December 1999.

Arutchelvam said that Suaram was not questioning the alleged criminal activities of Mohamed Samsudin.

"We are only concerned with the long remand and detention period he was subjected to for being a suspect in a planned criminal act," said Arutchelvam.