Malaysian Lock-up Detainee Abuse Scandal - Early Accusations

Early Accusations

The first indications of abuse came in early November, when a Chinese housewife, Yu Xuezhen, went public with the story of her alleged abuse. According to her, she was travelling in a car with another Chinese national on November 3 when they were detained at a police roadblock because their passports were allegedly invalid. The policeman then demanded a RM500 bribe from them. The housewife later said, "Since both of us were carrying valid passports, we refused to give the policeman anything. We were then taken to the police station." She claimed that at the police station, a policewoman took RM50 from her purse and divided it among four police officers.

Then during a body search there, she was instructed to strip and that "A policewoman grabbed my breast and slapped me when I blushed. I was then forced to take off my undergarments and do five ear squats." She also alleged that a policeman peeped into the room through an open door, and that the door was only shut tight when she screamed.

When her husband later arrived with their marriage certificate, the police officer at the station refused to accept it as genuine. The women were released four days later after the Immigration Department confirmed their passports were real. The woman lodged a complaint with the police the next day, but insisted on anonymity.

In another unrelated case, a remisier with a wife from China was asked for a bribe by a police officer so that the process of confirming her passport could be sped up.