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.
The lawyer had earlier complained that her client was abducted by Islamic authorities in Selangor.
KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested vocal rights lawyer Siti Kasim, hours after officers broke into her home following a report accusing her of forcibly locking up a woman.
“Police barged into her house around dinner time,” said a source to FMT, who said Siti was arrested at the Kajang police headquarters.
She had gone there to ask why her home was broken into by police.
It is understood that Siti’s client, a woman in her twenties, was picked up by police, after a complaint lodged by her mother claiming that her daughter’s faith was in question.
Siti had earlier said that the woman, who she claimed was abused by the mother, had been “abducted” by the police and Islamic authorities in Selangor.
A video posted on Facebook shows Siti at the police station, demanding that her client be freed. A woman was also heard from another room, denying that she had been kidnapped by Siti.
ABDUCTED BY JAIS AND POLICE
This young lady reached out to me couple of months back. She is afraid of her mother who is domineering and controlling. She needs advise on whether she can leave her house and lead her own life. So, I told her that she’s an adult, she can do what she wants. So, she decided to leave her family home and got a job at a legal firm.
Unfortunately for her, the mother lodged police reports and to JAIS that she’s mentally unstable and that her aqidah is in question.
She has lodged a police report as soon as she left home to ensure she covers herself. But the police don’t seem to care about it.
Today, she went to give a statement at JAIS but instead it was an entrapment by JAIS and the police. They were waiting to catch her.
Let me asked you if this right? An adult woman cannot lead her own life and leave an abusive mother who do everything she could to continue to control this woman.
We are going to make sure the police and JAIS going to pay for this. – Siti Kassim
Marina Mahathir- Here’s the situation: Anis is 24 years old, a legal adult. She voluntarily sought shelter at Siti Kasim’s home. Her mother then reported that she was kidnapped and the cops broke down Siti’s door and took Anis. Her mother’s sisters are at the station telling the police that the mother is abusive and Anis is saying that she has not been kidnapped. And yet the cops are arresting Siti and not letting anyone see Anis. Have they bothered to investigate what is the truth of the matter?
Police Have Arrested Vocal Rights Lawyer For Kidnap – Justice For Siti Kassim !
