PETALING JAYA: Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) has alleged that a teenager and a mentally challenged man were tortured by the police to confess to a crime they did not commit.

Suaram project coordinator Mohammad Alshatri said that 18-year-old Ahmad Haikal Anuar and 24-year-old Muhammad Pardi were allegedly tortured and detained in chains by police officers from the South Klang district police headquarters.

According to Suaram, Ahmad Haikal and Muhammad were allegedly beaten to obtain a confession on several motorcycle theft cases.

Mohammad said the men were detained under Section 3(1) of the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (Poca) and were also initially held without the knowledge of their families.

He added that the families of the men found out about their arrest through third parties, adding that the families were allegedly bullied by the police when they tried to seek information.

"Poca is a law reserved for hardcore criminals. What is the justification of the police to place them under Poca," said Mohammad during a press conference on Friday (May 24).

According to Suaram, Muhammad took Ahmad Haikal out to an internet cafe after he finished work at a restaurant at 1am on April 6.

However, a friend called Muhammad and had asked him to meet up at another place where they were subsequently beaten after being accused of stealing motorcycles.

Suaram said Muhammad and Ahmad Haikal were then handed over to the police.

Mahani Mat Kassim said her son Ahmad Haikal told her that he was repeatedly beaten with a pipe and was forced to admit to a crime he did not commit.

"Dealing with the police was also bad. When I asked for updates on my son's case, they did not care and treated us like a criminal's family," she said.

Mahani also urged the authorities to release her son if he was not guilty of any crime.

"I hope if my son is not guilty, he will be released. Why are they remanding him without any evidence? It has been so long," she said.

Meanwhile, Muhammad's mother Chik Abdullah said her son's arm was beaten until his shoulder was dislocated.

She also alleged that her son was hung so the police could hit the soles of his feet and his head with a pipe.

"I asked the police (what happened to my son) and the police said he fell from the stairs. When I saw my son at the hospital, he told me that he did not fall from the stairs but that the police had beaten him up. He was also not allowed to take any medication.

"It has been more than a month. I am asking them to release him, he is mentally challenged. Why are they detaining him for so long? He did not do anything wrong, there isn't any proof as well. He did nothing wrong," she said.