Teresa Kok

Press statement by YB Teresa Kok, MP for Seputeh at Kuala Lumpur on 12th April 2006

Is Michael Chong’s Motive to Defend the Corruption and Abuses in Police Lock-up and Add Salt to Wounds of Madam Ching Pik Wai?

I regret very much with Michael Chong’s coming out to discredit Madam Ching Pik Wai’s testimony on her humiliating experience in the Dang Wangi Police Lock-up on March 11, 2006 again and again. The similarity in both press conferences is that Michael Chong has twisted and turned the facts and misled journalists and members of public, thus blurring the crux of the issue that was brought up by Madam Ching.

On his press conference dated April 7, he said Madam Ching has never mentioned of pulling ears in the police lock-up to him when she first came to see him but she said it in the press conference with me, so he was doubtful of her statement, as such he claimed that they are inconsistent. The point is, Madam Ching has never mentioned to him that she has been asked by the police to do “ear pulling”. She has clearly stated in her police report that Sergeant Samsiah had asked Madam Ching to give her ATM card as well as the PIN number, if not Madam Ting will be asked to do ear-squat. The photograph shown by Michael Chong in his press conference was the photo published in Guang Ming Daily on April 2nd. That was the posture requested by the photographers during the press conference with me on April 1. This shows that Michael Chong has intentionally or unintentionally misled the press and the public.

After Madam Ching and I have rebutted him in our press conference on April 9 where Madam Ching demanded him to apologise to her for making false accusations against her, Michael Chong again called press conference on April 10 where he showed CCTV recordings to prove that he has attended to Madam Ching and her husband for 8 minutes. The CCTV recording actually doesn’t mean anything because Madam Ching and her husband had admitted from the beginning that both of them have met with Michael Chong and his assistant Novena Ting on March 16, but Madam Ching did not communicate with Michael Chong as she cannot converse in English, but she just told the problem she faced at SOGO supermarket to Novena Ting in Chinese, and her husband Walter Lim was the one that spoke to Michael Chong and requested MCA’s legal assistance to her case in SOGO.

Michael Chong then cited the interview of Mustafa, the CPO of Kuala Lumpur that was published in Nanyang Siang Pao on April 4 that Madam Ching has written a letter to the police to ask for forgiveness from the police. The actual interview in Nanyang Siang Pao dated April 4 is, Mustafa said Madam Ching has written a letter to plead guilty to SOGO after she was arrested, then only the police recommended to DPP to drop charges against her. The issue now is Madam Ching denied she has written letter to SOGO, as she doesn’t understand English and Malay language, it is impossible for her to write a letter to SOGO to plead guilty. She said she was asked by Sergeant Tohmeng to sign on a form on March 28th to settle the misunderstanding with SOGO, but she was not given a copy of the form that she signed. Again we see that Michael Chong made his accusation without checking facts with Madam Ching but just based on a media article, which did not quote her reaction at all.

Michael Chong Used Tactics to Diverting Attention

I am very disappointed with Michael Chong for his series of baseless and untrue criticism against Madam Ching who has gone through so much agony with the police. In the first press conference, Michael Chong twisted and turned the fact based on the “ear pulling” photo posed by Madam Ching. How can Michael Chong doubt her story in open just because she did not reveal the maltreatment and humiliation that she experienced in the police lock-up to him when she and her husband first met him on March 11? Is he jealous that Madam Ching kept the most shocking part of her painful experience to me and not to him that he has missed the opportunity for media publicity, or has he been used by certain quarters to divert the attention and sympathy of the public to Madam Ching’s account in the police lock-up?

On Michael Chong’s second press conference, we see the tactic used by Michael Chong to divert attention again. This time, he dare not repeat the “pulling ear” story but he focused on showing the CCTV recordings to the press, which proved that he has attended to the couple for 8 minutes. Madam Ching and her husband have never denied that they have met with Michael Chong, it just that Madam Ching claimed that she has never spoken to him due to language barrier, but she has spoken to his assistant Novena Ting. Madam Ching has never lied on about meeting him, so the CCTV recordings don’t explain anything at all, but it is another tactic of diverting attention on the real issue of abuse of power in the police station.

Second Time Where Michael Chong Runs Me Down On Police Abuses

In Michael Chong’s press conference on April 10, he said that I should have done my investigation before holding press conference on March 30, and I shouldn¡¯t go public based on her allegation because this is unfair to the police and have tarnished their image.

In fact, this is the second time Michael Chong criticized me openly when I exposed the abuse of power of police. The first time was when I exposed the nude squat in the police lock-up MMS clip, where he said he has obtained the MMS clip one week earlier than me but he chose not to make it public like what I did, but he just showed it to the Selangor CPO, so that it won’t tarnish the image of the police.

Michael Chong has been called “Justice Pao” by certain MCA members for his service to some needy – is sweeping all scandals and abuses under the carpet and tolerating corruption and nuisance the practice of Justice Pao?

As a wakil rakyat, it is my duty to expose and correct the wrongdoings whether by police or by any government or private sectors. I will be failing my duty if I cover-up all corruption and abuses that are suffered by ordinary people as this would not help to bring change to the system.

Is 8 Minutes Enough For Michael Chong to Handle a Case?

In Michael Chong’s second press conference, he showed the CCTV recordings to the press, which showed he has spent 8 minutes with Madam Ching and her husband, and his lawyer Jesvinderjit has spent 13 minutes talking to them in the afternoon. The issue here is, is 8 minutes enough for Michael Chong to assist a complainant? Below is the time my assistant has spent with Madam Ching from the day she came to seek help.

Time Spent By Xian Mei Yee in Assisting Madam Ching Pik Wai Till Today

22/03/06 Understanding the case and advise Madam Ching on her first visit, 2.30pm ~5.00pm = 2.5 hrs


23/03/06Accompany Madam Ching to meet with the IO at IPD Dang Wangi, 2.30pm~4.30pm = 2 hrs


24/03/06Accompany Madam Ching to IPD Dang Wangi but the IO was on
leave and he did not take calls. 4.30pm~5.30pm = 1 hr


28/03/06Accompany Madam Ching to SOGO to settle the dispute and drop charges, 3.00pm~4.00pm=1 hr


29/03/06Accompany Madam Ching to lodge report at Disciplinary Unit at Bukit Aman, 4pm~6pm = 2 hrs


Accompany Mdm Ching to lodge police report at Dang Wangi Police Station, 7.30pm~9.45pm =2 hrs15 mins


30/03/06 Press conference at the parliamenthouse
11.00am~12.00pm =1 hr


Aaccompany Madam Ching for further statement recording
2.30pm~7.00pm = 4 hrs 30 mins


31/03/06Meeting with lawyer and record further statement at police station, 1.00pm-4.45pm = 3 hrs45 mins

Total Time Spent 19 hours

I personally have spent about 11 hours in total to assist Madam Ching. This include assisting her to write police report and a few press conferences.

So, what is the 8 minutes that Michael Chong spent compare to the total of about 30 hours that spent by my assistant Xian Mei Yee and me in assisting Madam Ching? Isn’t Michael Chong exposing himself to the media that he has not be serious in handling Madam Ching’s case right from day one?

Mustafa’s Accusation Against Madam Ching Is Unfair & Bias

I need to respond to the statement made by the CPO of Kuala Lumpur Mustafa in his interview in Nanyang Siang Pao dated April 4. Mustafa said that Madam Ching has been ungrateful, as she lodged report against the police over the humiliation she suffered in the police lock-up after the police has dropped charges against her theft case.

The police report lodged by Madam Ching was about the corruption of the police as well as strip search at the police lock-up. The police have no right to steal money from one’s handbag and demanded money from a suspect, and subsequently asked a suspect to strip even if he or she has committed crime. Mustafa shouldn’t add the two issues together and thus blur the focus of the public on the corruption and abuses that happened in the Dang Wangi lock-up.

Besides, being the CPO of Kuala Lumpur, Mustafa should not have openly criticized Madam Ching when her complaint was still under police investigation. This is very unprofessional on his part and it is very unfair to the complainant, because he has been seen as openly defending the abuses that happened in the police lock-up and accused Madam Ching for committing theft without taking her explanation into account.

I did not respond to the statement made by Mustafa earlier as I have left the country on April 1 to attend an international conference in Turkey, and I only back to Malaysia on April 8. Before I left, I have asked Madam Ching and her husband to avoid speaking to the media as her case was still under police investigation, I was afraid they will make unnecessary statement or being misquoted, and get themselves into greater troubles with the police.

The attitude of Mustafa just proved to us that the police will always try to protect their own ranks who had committed offences and abuse power, and that is the reason that the government should set up IPCMC.

Teresa Kok