By Joseph Sipalan and Gavaskar Brian Raj | Malaysiakini
The father of Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) sergeant N Tharmendran today alleged that his son was tortured and forced to confess to the theft of two jet engines while under remand.
“They beat him like a cow,” said N Nagarajah, 71, after lodging a police report on the matter at the Brickfields police headquarters today.
Nagarajah was accompanied by human rights lawyer N Surendran and three PR members of parliament – DAP’s M Manogaran (Teluk Intan) and PKR’s S Manikavasagam (Kapar) and Low Gwo Burne (Kelana Jaya).
Nagarajah claimed that two RMAF officers, a Major Azam and a Major Ismail, had beaten and mistreated his son over a period of nearly three weeks from July 2 to 17 last year.
He claimed that Major Ismail made Tharmendran wear a crash helmet, which he then proceeded to hit repeatedly using a golf club and cricket bat.
Nagarajah said his son was told by Major Ismail that he wrote the names of all his torture subjects, including Tharmendran’s, on the crash helmet.
Nagarajah also claimed that his son was stripped down to his underwear in a room where the air-conditioning was set at full-blast, and that he was not allowed to sleep, with regular interrogations after midnight.
“All the time, they kept asking him to confess he had stolen the two F5E fighter jet engines from Sg Besi TUDM Base.
“Major Ismail also threatened to shoot my son and (co-accused) Rajandran Prasad,” he said in his report.
Nagarajah also alleged that the officers had told Tharmendran, who is currently held under remand at the Sungai Buloh prison, to also confess to stealing other airplane spare parts and air force property.
Surendran, acting as lead counsel for Tharmendran and his family, claimed the Attorney-General was fully aware of the torture and yet proceeded to charge him with stealing the jet engines.
“The fact that he was tortured to confess suggests that he is not guilty. Why is it that an armed forces personnel can be tortured severely on a military base?,” he asked.
‘No chance to give his side of story’
Surendran added that the RM150,000 bail set by the Sessions Court is highly questionable as Tharmendran has not had a chance to give his side of the story since the incident made headlines last year.
Manogaran said they will demand for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the case, and at the same time present a memorandum to the Inspector-General of Police and raise it in Parliament next week.
“Only through a royal commission can we have a fair investigation. We need to know how many are involved, who is involved, how long it has been going on, who is buying and how much is it all worth.
“Does it go all the way up to the generals? If they can sell spare parts, they can sell information too,” Manogaran said.
Tharmendran and businessman Rajandran were both charged in the Sessions Court in January this year in relation to the stolen jet engines.
Tharmendran was charged with stealing and abetting in the crime while Rajandran faces a charge of handling stolen properties. Both were also charged with conspiring to steal the engines.
Tharmendran was also charged with conspiring in the theft of the two engines with senior serviceman Mohamad Shukri Mohamad Yusop at the material processing shed (Matra 1) of the RMAF base in Sungai Besi.
Tharmendran’s and Rajandran’s trial has been set for July 19 at the Petaling Jaya sessions court.