PETALING JAYA: Activist lawyer Siti Kasim has been arrested by police for helping a woman escape the clutches of her mother.
Siti was arrested on Saturday night after police barged into her house and detained the woman, her client.
The arrest, which was broadcasted on Facebook live and went viral, was initially thought to have been due to kidnapping but was later denied.
Selangor CID chief Senior Asst Comm Fadzil Ahmat said that the arrest was not due to kidnapping but only for obstructing police.
“She was arrested under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public servant in the discharge of his duties,” he said when contacted after the video went viral.
According to Siti on a Facebook post, the client, who is an adult, had tried to leave her mother.
But the mother lodged a police report claiming that her daughter was mentally unstable and that her aqidah (faith) was in question.
Siti also claimed that the client was then “abducted” by police and the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS).
The client is said to have moved out of her parents' house to escape her "controlling" mother who allegedly strangled her.
She was questioned by JAIS before being taken to Hospital Kajang for a mental health assessment, and was released thereafter.
She has been staying with Siti since she was released.
PETALING JAYA: The police had acted on activist lawyer Siti Kasim and a woman based on a report by the woman's mother, said Selangor CID chief Senior Asst Comm Fadzil Ahmat (pic).
"This follows a report made by the victim's mother on June 21 that stated that her daughter had been taken away by Siti when she had been undergoing a psychiatrist's exam at the Kajang hospital," said SAC Fadzil.
He added when contacted on Sunday (June 24) that the police had also lodged a report as there was an incident when Siti had tried to enter the examination room despite being stopped by a security guard.
He said that the reports led to the case being classified under Section 363 and 186 of the Penal Code, for kidnapping and obstructing a public servant.
SAC Fadzil said that follow-up investigations led to the arrest on Saturday (June 23) night after the police had received information regarding the woman's whereabouts.
"The victim refused to cooperate and has locked herself in the room. Because of this, the police had to force their way in to ensure she did not injure herself and others," he said.
SAC Fadzil said that the woman has been sent back to the hospital to resume the earlier exam which had been halted.
"The investigating officer will also get a decision from her doctor," he added
SAC Fadzil reiterated that Siti Kassim's arrest earlier was made under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public servant in the discharge of his duties.
"Siti has been apprehended at the Kajang police headquarters under Section 186 for obstructing a public servant on duty. A remand order will be obtained," he said.
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Activist lawyer Siti Kasim arrested
A screengrab from a Facebook video showing a policewoman who wanted to handcuff Siti Kasim at the Kajang district police headquarters on June 24, 2018.
KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 — Siti Kasim was arrested early this morning for kidnapping a woman whom the lawyer insisted she had rescued from the latter’s allegedly abusive mother.
The police allegedly broke down the door of Siti’s home last night and took the 24-year-old woman named Anis Nur Izzaty Ruslan into custody.
It is understood that Anis had been staying at Siti’s home since Thursday, after the lawyer went to Hospital Kajang to assist her.
The police, who accused Anis of having mental health issues, had allegedly taken her to the hospital by force.
When Siti and some others went to the Kajang district police headquarters to see Anis, the human rights lawyer was arrested instead under Section 363 of the Penal Code for kidnapping and under Section 186 for obstructing a public servant.
“They want to arrest me based on a police report made by the mother who claimed I kidnapped her daughter,” Siti said at the police station in a video posted on Facebook.
Anis immediately can be heard shouting from behind the closed door of an adjacent room: “That’s not true. Dia tak kidnap I. Itu tipu tipu!” (That’s not true. She didn’t kidnap me. Those are lies!)
Siti then yelled at a plainclothes policeman and threatened to sue the police for damaging her house, after which she was arrested. A policewoman even brought out a pair of handcuffs and only to put them away when Siti promised to cooperate.
“I’m trying to save a girl from her crazy mother, and yet, this is what you’re doing.
“Why did you raid my house? I can assure you this will get to the IGP (inspector-general of police). The so-called victim brought her aunts saying this is not true, she wants to see me as her lawyer,” said Siti in the video.
In another video posted on Facebook, two women who claimed to be Anis’ aunts alleged that the 24-year-old was mentally and physically abused by their sister.
“I’m thankful to Siti Kasim for getting her out of this,” said one of them.
The other woman, who identified herself as Anis’ aunt, accused her eldest sister of being a “very violent lady”.
“We have to save her daughter,” she said.
According to Sisters in Islam (SIS) programme manager Shareena Sheriff, Anis left her home in Putrajaya last January, where she was living with her mother.
After living in a shelter for a month, Anis managed to find a job in a legal firm and moved out of the shelter to live on her own.
“Unfortunately for her, the mother lodged police reports and told Jais that she’s mentally unstable and that her ‘aqidah’ (faith) is in question,” Siti wrote on Facebook on Thursday, referring to the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais).
Shareena said Jais summoned Anis on Thursday.
The religious authorities were accompanied by the police who took Anis to a hospital, claiming that the 24-year-old suffered from mental health issues.
A source, who requested anonymity, told Malay Mail that the hospital took Anis’ bodily fluids without her consent or a police warrant before Siti arrived at the hospital.
“Siti asked her if she wanted to stay or go with Siti. There was a scuffle between the police and her. She went with Siti and Siti brought her to her place,” said the source.
The source said that allegations concerning Anis’ mental health were unfounded, claiming that the woman’s mother had never sought psychiatric help.
Last night’s troubles began when the police entered Siti’s home and took Anis while the lawyer was away.
Faha Deva Arunasalam, who represented Siti, told Malay Mail at about 1.50am that that the police were recording Siti’s statement.
“They seem to now be cooperating with her,” he said.
Siti Kasim (centre) celebrates her release with fellow lawyers and supporters in front of Kajang police headquarters June 24, 2018. — Picture courtesy of Rajsurian Pillai
KAJANG, June 24 — Lawyer Siti Kasim said today she will continue to represent her client Anis Nur Izzaty Ruslan as the latter “does not trust anyone else at the moment”, following her release from police custody.
Siti insisted she was only doing her job as a lawyer, which included standing up for her client and “not taking any nonsense from anyone”.
“I have not contacted her since my arrest yesterday, but I believe she is being looked after by the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO),” Siti said during a press conference following her release, referring to her 24-year-old client.
Siti said Anis initially stayed with her on Thursday as she feared her mother — who had lodged a police report against her daughter, claiming she is mentally unsound — would create a disturbance at WAO’s office.
“As I told the police, I am doing my job as a lawyer, which means I have to defend my client vigorously.
“It was necessary to stand up to them last night, and to do things rightly, properly, correctly, as well as take no nonsense from anyone,” she said.
Siti was detained at 12.40am today under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public servant after the police took her client Anis into custody.
The police had previously broken into Siti’s home, where she was allegedly sheltering her client from the latter’s allegedly abusive mother, claiming the lawyer was kidnapping her own client.
Siti added she was overwhelmed by the support of her fellow lawyers — 12 of whom were with her since yesterday up to the time she was released.
“Some of them are more senior to me, and I am immensely thankful for their support which has given me a great deal of courage,” she said.
She also thanked the court for dismissing the police’s remand application and pledged to cooperate with them on the matter.
“I believe the magistrate rejected the application upon hearing the whole true picture which led to this.
“I was just doing my job as her lawyer and not trying to cause any trouble. However, I will work together with the police as there are many things behind this issue,” she said.
The police said earlier they will continue investigating Siti for alleged obstruction of a public servant, but not kidnapping.
