With the police under constant watch by the public, several members of the public have been critical of the police’s action in everything they do – from issuing traffic offences to apprehending criminals.
A video of policemen apprehending a suspect went viral triggering both negative and positive responses toward the level of force used.
A video shared via Twitter by Hilmi Adi Ruzaini (@HilmiAdi) witnessed two policemen successfully capturing a fleeing suspect from the gutter in front of a residential area.
In his tweet, @HilmiAdi wrote,
“Video taken in Cheras showing a robbery suspect being apprehended by the police. Opinions are divided, some say it is unnecessary brutality (since suspect submitted and not resisting at that point). Some say brutality is justified.”
Video taken in Cheras showing a robbery suspect being apprehended by Polis (some say the 'ninja' bukit aman special ops team)
Opinion are divided, some say its unnecessary brutality (since suspect submitted and not resisting at that point).
Some say the brutality is justified pic.twitter.com/kK16MFifoI
— Hilmi Adi Ruzaini (@HilmiAdi) December 13, 2018
The one-minute video saw policemen clad in a black balaclava, battle dress uniforms (BDUs) and bulletproof jackets exercising force towards the suspect.
They were cursing, stepping, kicking, punching and slapping the suspect’s head who was already pinned down on the ground.
The video has garnered more than 1.8k retweets. Some netizens were criticizing the actions taken by the police while others were praising them.
Several comments were made based on the assessment of the police’s uniform, with the uniform typically worn by the D7 (Kongsi Gelap/Judi/Maksiat) and D9 (Siasatan Khas) units, prompting that this may be more than just a robbery case.
Source: Twitter
One netizen wrote, “If Bukit Aman is involved, this is not your usual criminal case.”
Some were more interested in the force used by the police in apprehending the culprit, voicing their support for the actions taken.
Source: Twitter
One netizen wrote, “You could hear the cop shouting ‘put your arm out’, ‘straighten your arm’. That means that the robber is resisting and isn’t complying with the orders although some restraint should be shown by the cops.”
Of course, some were more critical of what happened in the video.
With one writing,
“No matter how big/serious the case is, the detaining officers do not have the power to beat the suspect if the suspect didn’t resist or make any counter-attack. We are talking about the procedure here. Kita ada undang undang tuan. Everyone is innocent unless proven guilty.”
The police are coming under additional scrutiny from everyone with a camera phone, which can be useful to keep their powers in check.
But with short videos like this, it might be better if we get a full understanding of the situation first, before coming to a conclusion on the matter.
Is the action taken by the police warranted? Share your comments with us in the comments section.
Also read: This Man is So “Pretty”, The Police Asked for His MyKad to Prove He’s Not a Woman
