Pressure mounts on police, AG as attacker of deaf Grab driver still not charged

The government's human rights commission Suhakam has urged the police to come clean on the kind of action taken against an officer who assaulted an e-hailing driver, as pressure mounts on the authorities to charge the man more than two months after the incident sparked public outrage.

This comes after Inspector-General of Police, Razarudin Husain, responded to the revelation of a shocking dashcam video showing an officer, who is part of Johor ruler Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim's entourage, assaulting disabled Grab driver Ong Ing Keong.

The clip, which was first revealed to the public by  rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL), had been available to the police since the day of the incident on May 28.

"In the face of evidence as clear as that, no one has been brought to justice for this assault upon Ong. It is clearly someone from the escort who did it. His identity is known to the investigative body. Why have charges not been brought?" lawyer and LFL adviser N Surendran told a packed press conference on Wednesday.

Razarudin said the police has taken internal disciplinary action against the officer involved, adding that the investigation papers on the case were also submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

Suhakam, however, said his statement did not provide details, leaving the public in the dark as to what kind of action had been taken or whether the disciplinary proceedings were still ongoing.

"As duty bearers entrusted with the protection of the public, police officers have a profound responsibility to uphold and to protect the rights of all individuals, including persons with disabilities," it said.

Saying the case was a "straightforward case of assault" under the Penal Code, Suhakam said the AGC as the "guardian of public conscience" should not delay bringing charges against the suspect.

"The delay in addressing this serious incident undermines public confidence in the institutions responsible for upholding the rule of law and delivering justice," said Suhakam.

"Furthermore, the public has a right to be informed of the progress of this case, and Suhakam calls on the AGC
 to provide promptly regular updates on the actions being taken."

On May 28, Ong, who is deaf, said he was assaulted by a bodyguard of Tengku Ismail, better known as TMJ, after he was asked to move his car outside the St Regis Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

He said the bodyguard, who was part of the royal entourage, knocked on his car window and then punched him in the face.

Ong was later treated at Kuala Lumpur Hospital for a soft tissue injury.

The police also confiscated the CCTV footage of the hotel as well as Ong's dashcam camera.

The following day, Bukit Aman CID chief Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said police classified the offence under Section 323 of the Penal Code for causing injury.

Later, city police chief Rusdi Mohd Isa said Ong had lodged a second complaint on the same day and had withdrawn the first one as it was a "misunderstanding".

On May 31, Ong denied that he had withdrawn his police report. He said an officer gave him the choice of either accepting a sum of money from a palace representative who came to the police station, or face having his phone confiscated if the case went to court.

Last month, Ong's lawyer Latheefa Koya slammed the authorities' silence over the case.

"No one has been prosecuted for the assault upon Ong. No arrests have been made," said the former chief of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

"This is a matter of public interest. The long silence from the authorities is unacceptable."