Anwar told to step in as deaf driver longs for justice over assault by royal escort

Nearly 200 organisations and individuals representing disabled communities, human rights activists, academics and e-hailing drivers have called on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to intervene in the plight of a disabled e-hailing driver who was assaulted by an officer accompanying a royal entourage more than three months ago.

In their memorandum to Anwar, they demanded an explanation from the prime minister on the absence of any action against the officer who assaulted deaf Grab driver Ong Ing Keong on May 28 while he was waiting for passengers at a hotel.

They also questioned why no action was taken against police officers who had attempted to get Ong to withdraw his complaint, despite assurances from Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain.

"The failure to prosecute the individuals involved in this case has undermined confidence in our country's justice system," reads the memorandum signed by 36 organisations and around 150 individuals representing various professions and backgrounds.

"It raises the question of whether the laws in Malaysia are being implemented fairly and in accordance with Article 8 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees that all people are equal before the law."

Anwar is currently on an official visit to Russia.

Earlier, Ong's lawyer Zaid Malek had requested that one of the two deputy prime ministers or a minister in the Prime Minister's Department personally receive the memorandum and refused to hand it over to a junior officer.

He said this was to ensure that the case was taken seriously by the government.

"Unfortunately, it could not be arranged, although I stated that we wanted to meet with those in power because Ong has had to do this several times to get justice. We want to take the final step and close the book so that the investigation will be carried out according to the law," Zaid told reporters after he and several people, including Ong, submitted the memorandum.

The memorandum was received by Anwar's private secretary Aznur Hafeez Kaswuri, who promised to hand it over to Anwar, Zaid said.

Commission of inquiry

The memorandum called on the prime minister to form a commission of inquiry to investigate the "glaring failure" of the authorities in handling Ong's case.

It also demanded an explanation for the silence of the Attorney General's Office, which has yet to press criminal charges.

In addition, it called for an investigation into a "palace representative" who Ong said had asked him to withdraw the complaint he had lodged with Brickfields police station.

On Aug 14, rights group Lawyers For Liberty (LFL) released a dashcam video recording of the incident which sparked public outrage.

The two-minute clip showed a man shouting at Ong as he waited for his passengers outside the St Regis Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

Ong then rolled down his car window to speak to what looked like a police officer, before the man suddenly attacked him with a hard punch on the face.

Lawyer N. Surendran said the video had already been available to the police on the day of the incident on May 28.

Following the release of the clip, the government's human rights commission, Suhakam, called on the police to disclose the nature of action taken against the officer who assaulted Ong.

This was in response to Razarudin's claim that police had taken internal disciplinary action against the officer.

However, Razarudin later clarified that the disciplinary action was over a completely different matter related to the officer's failure to declare assets.

He then came under criticism from lawyers for saying that police could not conduct an internal investigation into the officer for fear of "double jeopardy", as he was the subject of a criminal investigation.

"Double jeopardy" refers to a situation where a person is prosecuted twice for the same crime.

Speaking to reporters today, Zaid said he hoped that Ong would finally get the justice he deserved as the matter was now with the prime minister.

"It's not just about what happened to Ong, but also about preventing a repeat of the failure in the investigation, as well as how he was treated when he tried to get help at the police station," he added.