Police Raj in Malaysia: innocents charged for attempted murder

Innocents, including Sures, who has a hole in his heart Charged for Attempted Murder

Who are the Hindraf 31?
Soon Li Tsin | Dec 15, 07 3:41pm
www.malaysiakini.com

Car-tinter S Sures, 18, was among those charged with attempted murder of police officer Dadi Abdul Rani during a demonstration at Batu Caves in the early hours of Nov 25, just before the mammoth Hindraf rally which rocked the city.

Sures has a hole in his heart. His mother S Viswanathan, 58, who openly wailed on hearing that her son was denied bail, said her son was not part of Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) but was at the Batu Caves temple to pray for his health.

When counsel GK Ganesan argued for bail for Sures, Shah Alam Sessions Judge Azimah Omar demanded to see his medical record.

However, the lawyer and courts were pressed for time so the records could not be produced. Subsequently, Sures - the youngest among the Hindraf 31 - was sent to the police lock-up.

Sures is one of the 31 individuals who were denied bail on the grounds of national security reasons and the severity of the charges, which also included "causing mischief".

Visibly distressed families broke down and cried foul over the harsh Dec 6 decision as the 31 will be incarcerated in Sungai Buloh prison for over a month until their trial begins on Jan 14 next year.

Bail hearing on Monday

However, the Shah Alam High Court will hear an appeal against the bail rejection decision on Monday.

Prior to this, 14 of the 31 were also charged for illegal assembly at Batu Caves at the Selayang Sessions Court on Nov 28.

The 31 are accused of wounding officer Dadi during a demonstration at Batu Caves, the site of an important Hindu temple on the fringes of Kuala Lumpur.

At least 3,000 had gathered at the Batu Caves temple grounds in the early hours of Nov 25, drawing a stiff response from police who used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowd and made 69 arrests.

Later in the morning, more than 30,000 people gathered in the streets of Kuala Lumpur to protest against the marginalisation of ethnic Indians and the crowd again faced tear gas and water cannons.

While the focus has been on the top brass in Hindraf over the past few weeks, the 31 are in fact very ordinary people ranging from a 18-year-old boy to a 54-year-old odd-job worker.
Some are students, while a few are lorry drivers, and together they have a monthly estimated income of between RM500 to RM2,000. A number of them are expected to lose their jobs as a result of their long absence from work.
To compound their plight, some of their lawyers who are representing them, including Hindraf legal adviser P Uthayakumar, had been arrested under the Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial.

Charged for attempted murder

Malaysiakini compiles the list of the 31 individuals - some of whom are Hindraf members while others were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

1. SS Ganishen, 39, lorry driver.

2. K Raju, 42, driver. He is hard of hearing on one side.

3. R Sakthivel , 34, technician. In court, he told reporters that he left his bike when he passed by the Batu Caves temple to see what was happening. When he returned to his bike, the police arrested him.

4. K Ganapathy, 38, lorry driver.

5. K Sukumaran, 24, foreman.

6. S Kumaran, 25, farmer.

7. B Varatharaju, 32, foreman.

8. M Kuna Sekaran, 24, machine operator.

9. V Ganeson, 40, lorry driver.

10. L Thiyagarajan, 31, sales executive.

11. S Gunaa , 21, is a farmer. He only gets salary when there is work.

12. K Thinagaranpillay, 23, manager.

13. N Balamohan , 23, part-time worker.

14. K Gopinath, 27, store keeper.

15. R Suresh, 24, runs his own business.

16. G Suman, 20, runs his own business.

17. M Buwenthiran, 24, technician.

18. M Pushparathan , 21, technician.

19. S Tail Arasu, 26, despatch boy.

20. N Ramasamy, 43, is a driver. He is also a kidney patient. He showed his dialysis card in court but this was dismissed by judge Azimah as it did necessarily prove his health condition.

21. S Ramash Kumar, 22, student.

22. R Pushpanathan,19, despatch boy.

23. S Mugilan Dever , 20, student.

24. G Thinesh Kumar, 19, foreman.

25. T Kunalan, 28, machine operator.

26. S Sures, 18, car-tinter. He has a hole in the heart.

27. A Vasantarao, 19, student.

28. N Markandan, 54, odd-job worker.

29. K Raghu, 39, technician.

30. A Rayar, 30, had an engagement ceremony planned on Dec 7 that had to be cancelled. His occupation is unknown.

31. S Ravi, 33, lorry driver.


source: www.malaysiakini. com