Doubts linger over nude squat video

The Straits Times, Singapore

05 January 2006

Doubts linger over nude squat video

Some still don't believe woman in China Press report is Malay due to distrust of the authorities

By Carolyn HongOpposition

MP Teresa Kok was one of the few Malaysians who had a clear look at the face of the Malay woman who identified herself as the detainee taped doing nude squats in police custody.'I saw her face clearly. Her eyes and other features were exactly as I saw on the video clip, and I am sure she is Malay from the way she spoke,' she said.Ms Kok was convinced that the Malay woman was telling the truth and that the media had got it wrong when it earlier reported that the detainee was a Chinese national.But to her surprise, not all Malaysians saw it the same way. Some sceptical ones refused to believe that the newspapers made a mistake. They insisted that it was a cover-up.And this was after the independent panel investigating the video clip recalled the Malay woman specifically to be identified by people like Ms Kok and representatives of the Bar Council.At her first appearance, the woman had kept her face covered and only showed it to the five panel members, immediately sparking rumours of a cover-up.The panel, which is due to issue its report on Jan 15, was set up to investigate the video clip after it sparked outrage when it became public in November. It was shot secretly in June on a mobile phone by a policeman in a lock-up.Given the prevailing scepticism, Ms Kok said the Internal Security Ministry was making things worse by going after the Chinese-language China Press newspaper for identifying the woman as a Chinese national.'It seems to be on a hunt for a scapegoat, either me or China Press,' she said.The New Straits Times reported that the Internal Security Ministry has asked China Press to explain its mistake, and warned that its night edition could be suspended for a certain period.Ms Kok said she is still being asked by voters from her Kuala Lumpur constituency and friends whether the woman was truly a Malay.'They even ask if police had found a Malay woman who looks like her. When I explain to them that I am convinced...I can see that they don't quite agree with me,' she said.This is also the experience of lawyer S.N. Nair, who had represented four Chinese women who were made to do nude squats in a separate incident in November last year. It was initially believed that the woman in the video clip could be one of them.Mr Nair said he, too, was being asked whether there was a cover-up.'I have told them that the Malay woman is really the one in the video but I would say that it is 50-50 on how far people accept this,' he said.Some have blamed this on excessive cynicism. But to him, it reflects the low confidence in the police force.He said the police had fed the people's suspicion by failing to correct the mistake for a good three weeks even after news reports had triggered a protest from China.'The press has to be accountable, but in this case, the government also failed to handle it well.'The newspaper was merely doing its duty, and any action other than a reprimand will be a setback to the principle of press freedom,' he said.