And it was all because her dog had attacked and injured a neighbour in July.
Rangitha Gobi, 22, said her mother was forced to endure the night in the lock-up in purple attire as police officers failed to verify her claim that she had made the bail payment, although she had the receipt.
She said only the timely intervention of a “caring” magistrate, Adibah Kadir, enabled her mother Saroja Devi Krishnan to be released the next day. Otherwise, she would have had to spend another two nights in the lock-up as it was a weekend.
On Friday, Sept 10, Adibah fined Saroja Devi RM2,000 after she pleaded guilty to negligence under Section 289 of the Penal Code.
However, Saroja Devi, who works as a cook and has seven children, appealed for a lower fine and the magistrate fixed RM500 as bail pending her next hearing on Oct 25.
According to Rangitha, her mother’s nightmare began almost immediately after the hearing ended.
“Soon after the decision, the police handcuffed my mother in the courtroom, stopped her in front of a group of waiting reporters before taking her away to the police station. After 40 minutes, a court official told me to pay the bail online.
“I did at 12.39pm and the court was on lunch break. A police officer in the court told me my mother would be released. When she did not return home by 4pm, I called the police to find out why,” she told FMT.
Rangitha said the police officer told her that as it was a Friday, she would have to wait until Monday to get the “release letter” from the court before they could release her mother, although she showed them proof of payment.
“I went back to the court the next morning and, thank God, the court was open although it was a Saturday. Adibah was kind enough to see me and was surprised that my mother was not released.
“She instructed the police to bring my mother to the court and released her immediately. Adibah even apologised to my mother on behalf of everybody responsible. We really wish to thank her for this,” she said.
A police officer, who declined to be named, confirmed a report had been lodged.
Lawyer SN Nair said the overnight detention was “preposterous” and showed poor discretion by the officers handling such a simple matter.
“The moment police see the legitimate document showing that the bail has been settled, suspects should be freed. What they did to her is unlawful detention. Thanks to the magistrate, she did not have to unnecessarily spend another two nights in the lock-up,” he said.
Nair said it was especially appalling that the police made her wear lock-up clothes and kept her there for such a simple case, and put her at risk of contracting Covid-19.
“Bukit Aman should come up with some new SOPs in matters such as this instead of allowing people to be locked up unlawfully.
“This is tantamount to abuse of authority as well,” he said.
Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram