Cap Lau (right) at the press conference with the girl, who lodged a police report.
SIBU: A parliamentarian here is pushing for the establishment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to be done as quickly as possible.
Lanang MP Alice Lau said she would voice out the matter during the Parliament sitting this Monday.
In September this year, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced the setting up of the IPCMC, set to replace the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) and act as an independent body to look into police complaint more holistically.
“I hope with IPCMC, the public would have more confidence in our police force in the future,” Lau told a press conference held at the Democratic Action Party (DAP) office in Rejang Park here yesterday.
Lau was there to highlight the case of a 19-year-old girl, who said she was a raped by a police personnel in Sarikei late last month.
According to Lau, the victim and her older sister came to her seeking advice on what the next course of action should be.
It is said that the girl, who works as a shop assistant in Kuching, boarded an express bus at 10pm on Oct 28, to go back to Sibu and celebrate her sister’s birthday there.
Around 4am the next day, the bus stopped at the terminal in Jalan Wharf Sarikei where the girl went down to go to the toilet.
Somehow, the bus left her behind – with her purse and mobile phone still on board.
“She then managed to stop a 4WD (four-wheel drive vehicle) and asked the male driver for help. He brought her to the next bus terminal in the hope that she could catch up with the bus there, but to no avail.
“It was there when the man told her it was unsafe for her to be alone at the terminal in the wee hours. He said he would bring her to his ‘office’, where she would be safe,” said Lau, adding that the man had actually brought her to a police station.
Lau said the man also offered the girl to use his mobile phone to call her sister in Sibu, which she did.
“Later, her sister called back and told her that she had collected her belongings from the bus at Sibu terminal. The girl said it was around this moment that the man began to make her feel uncomfortable.
“She claimed that the man later told her to go to the toilet, where he forced himself on her.
“After the ordeal, the girl said he brought her to the bus terminal and gave her RM30 for the fare to Sibu and also for food. Immediately after arriving in Sibu, the victim told her sister about the incident,” said Lau.
It is understood that a police report has been lodged and investigation is ongoing.
According to Lau, the girl identified the man who had raped her from a line-up arranged at the police station where she said the incident took place, adding that the girl’s statement has been recorded.
It is alleged that the man who raped the girl is a policeman.
Back on the IPCMC, Lau stressed that this very incident signified the crucial need to expedite the setting up of the commission, ‘to zero in on police misconduct or abuse of power’.