Monday, October 19th, 2009
Block F of Indah Condominium at Prima Damansara
Vice raid by 'officers' from residents' association allegedly leaves man with black eye
Teoh El Sen
NOT AWARE: Mohd Yusuf said he was not told of any beatings
IF you think that you can’t be nabbed for khalwat (close illicit proximity) just because you are found together with more than one other member of the opposite sex, think again.
Aqmal (not his real name) and four of his friends found this out the hard way when their durian-eating session at their condominium unit in Block F of Indah Condominium at Prima Damansara came to a halt when several men from the local residents’ association came knocking on their door.
He claimed that the men were not only aggressive and thuggish, but also hurled insults at him and his friends.
To compound his misery, two of the men also punched him three times, leaving him with a black eye.
But the worse part for Aqmal is not about whether he was beaten or not; it was that the men who knocked on his friends’ home did not even identify themselves.
“I had just sat down to watch a DVD while my friends (three female and a male) were preparing food, others were in their rooms and one was on the computer when there were loud knocks and rattling of the grilles,” said Aqmal.
When his female friend opened the door, the shouting men, numbering about eight to 10, barged in and demanded their identification.
“They were without tags or any identification and they wrote on exercise books; one even called my friend a prostitute for inviting over male friends,” said Aqmal, who said he followed their directions without complaint.
But when they were bringing him and his three friends (two males and a female, as the other female was apparently a Christian), out the door, one of them told Aqmal he acted like an American — to which he replied: Lebih kurang lah (maybe).
This prompted an immediate reaction.
BRUISED EYE: Aqmal showing his police report, his medical report and the bruise he alleged was caused by people from the raiding party
“That was when they got angry and one of them punched me twice on my left eye and another punched me once on my head,” said Aqmal, who said he did not fight back but blocked their attack — which left his arm scratched too.
Aqmal said he later had to drive himself and the “officers” to their operations room at Lestari apartment where they “gave me a lecture and told me what I did was wrong” — but no khalwat charge was pressed.
Aqmal said he admitted that he may be wrong but he is not satisfied with how he was treated and questioned the authority of the men. He lodged a police report at 3am while another friend lodged a police report yesterday.
Meanwhile, when Malay Mail met the alleged assailants, the Lestari Apartment Residents’ Assocation president Mohd Yusuf Abdullah confirmed the “operation” but denied the beating.
“We had full authority as, after we received information of the suspected khalwat (close proximity), we linked with Jais (the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department) and informed the local mosque imam who was called to help in the raid by the Indah Condominium mosque chairman Raja Shaharin Sahar.
“We do not do such things without information or without authority,” said Mohd Yusuf.
He said they had actually been lenient and had allowed the four individuals to go after advising them.
“I was not informed nor I am not aware if they were hurt in any way. This can be witnessed by others,” Mohd Yusuf said.
He added that such operations were common and it was done to curb maksiat (immoral activities), which he claims could become a worrying trend in the neighbourhood.
Prima Damansara chairman and mufti Raja Shaharin Sahar, who had called for the inspection, said he went over to the operations room to advise the four individuals, but he said the beating was “beyond my knowledge”.
“They looked fine when I spoke to them and they went home after everything was resolved cordially,” said Raja Shaharin.
The Malay Mail
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