Bludgeoned natives to sue police

By Joseph Tawie of FMT

A father and son who were attacked by gangsters are planning to sue the police for not acting on their report and for detaining them instead.

KUCHING: A native landowner and his son who were bludgeoned by gangsters on Feb 14 last year while defending their property and who were later imprisoned by police for lodging a report on the incident, are now planning to sue the authorities.

Minggat Nyakin and his son Juan were badly beaten by the gangsters when they tried to block the thugs from extracting timber from their NCR land at Sungai Rotan and Sungai Penyaru Kuba, Sarikei.

According to Minggat, the gangsters had the intention to kill both of them, but since his son had managed to escape to seek help, they had to hurriedly left him unconscious and sprawled on the ground.

Minggat said that he spent more than a week in the hospital. Today he could not speak well due to the strangulation on his neck.

When the duo went to the police station to report the incident, they arrested and detained.

Juan was detained for two days, his brother Saga who was supposed to have fetched them from the police station was also detained for two nights.

His car was also detained for three months. Mingat’s car was also detained for more than one year.

Senior lawyer Baru Bian, who is Minggat’s counsel, said the family want the incident investigated.

‘No investigations done’

It is learned that the timber company that has been operating for many years on NCR land allegedly without a relevant or valid licence is also receptive to an investigation regardless of any wrongdoings or crimes that Minggat or his son might have committed.

Said Bian: “We are discussing with the family to sue the police over the false and wrongful arrest.

“It has been more than one year since Mingat lodged the report and nothing came out of the police investigations against the gangsters.”

Bian said Minggat was not the only one who had been attacked for defending his NCR land. There had been other similar incidents in the past.

“The latest was on July 2, 2012 at Rumah Randi, Digih in Selangau, where Semawi Anak Renang was almost killed when a vehicle allegedly driven by gangsters tried to over-run him.

“He suffered a broken leg and is hospitalized in Sibu General Hospital.

“He was defending his NCR land against an oil palm company.

“It is a very a sad thing that gangsterism is being used and there is no hope of a reprieve under this present government,” added Bian, who is the Ba’Kelalan assemblyman.

Read more: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/07/11/bludgeoned-natives-to-sue-police/#ixzz20I34Hfo0