PSM remand: Court to deliver decision tomorrow

Penang High Court Judge Datuk Zamani Abdul Rahim is hearing an urgent application for a revision of the seven-day remand order on 30 detained PSM activists.

The application was submitted by Legal Aid Centre lawyers yesterday.

The detainees are represented by an 11-member legal team led by senior criminal lawyer Dato C V Prabhakaran. Others in the team include Ranjit Singh Dhillon, Agatha Foo, Karen Lai, V Parthiban, Sukhindarpal Singh and Ravi Chandran.

The courtroom is packed with around a hundred people, and extra chairs had to be brought in. Others are unable to get into the room. Lawyers are raising questions about whether the actual evidence found supported the need for a long remand period.

This morning, about 10 activists arrived at the Police Contingent Headquarters along Penang Road to submit a joint NGO memorandum to the CPO expressing concern about the poor treatment of detainees. A policewoman accepted the memo on behalf of the CPO who was said to be engaged elsewhere.

While the activists were giving a press conference outside the station, another group of 10 men – an activist said he recognised some of them them from a ‘pro-ISA’ group at an earlier gathering – approached and confronted the activists. The activists moved on and continued their press conference at a nearby location.

Meanwhile, social reform movement Aliran issued a a statement last night.