Why did the four Chinese nationals, who claimed to have been abused by the police, turn to DAP?

This is among the questions raised by Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar when quizzed on their latest accusation that the police came knocking on their doors at midnight.

Last week, the four women, who have since lodged a police report, claimed that they were forced to strip with one of them being slapped and another having her money taken away when detained at the Petaling Jaya police headquarters.

The case had attracted widespread attention, with the cabinet calling for an end to the harassment on Chinese nationals.

Meanwhile, Noh said he would handle the matter if the women approached him personally.

The deputy minister added that he would not call for an investigation because he had no idea about the latest issue, which was reported in the media.

"I haven't received any reports...How can I take action if I don't have the report? How can I rely on newspaper reports?" he asked during a press conference at the Parliament lobby.

"They (the Chinese women) complained to whom? With the ministry? I only got to know about the case in the newspapers. Why did they want to see DAP, why didn't they meet the minister? Only ministers can make decisions," he added.

Police state?

In a related development, the Women's Development Collective (WDC) dismissed yesterday's police raids as 'shameless' and wondered if it was an act of reprisal.

"...between 1am and 3am, seven to eight police officers went to the houses of two Chinese women who had previously lodged a report on police abuse. The reason given was to check if the women were staying with their husbands and at the addresses they provided.

"WDC is deeply concerned that the raid might be a response to the Chinese women who dared to speak out against police abuse," it said in a statement today.

The collective warned that if police officers take it upon themselves to be the "god of law enforcement", then Malaysia is indeed becoming a police state.

WDC said this is not an isolated incident, citing the case of a 24-year-old transsexual who was allegedly told to strip and subjected to lewd remarks.

In an exclusive malaysiakini report, the transsexual, Mumtaz (picture), related her ordeal at the hands of several police officers at the Ipoh police district headquarters after being detained on suspicion of prostitution.

Mumtaz, who is currently on bail, also filed a police report on the incident.