The claim was made by 19-year-old Muhammad Amirul Azwan Mohd Shakri’s family to Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) Central Committee Member Khairul Nizam Abd Ghani, who visited them in Tumpat, Kelantan, recently.

Amirul was arrested in Kelantan and spent two nights in a lock-up in Tumpat, before he was handed to Johor police.

According to the family, Amirul was physically abused by Johor police personnel who came to Kelantan to transport the youth to the southern state to face charges.

“Amirul complained he was beaten up and that police personnel had pulled his beard.

“The policemen were angry that Amirul had insulted their prince,” Khairul told the portal.

He added that Amirul’s mother was distraught when met two days ago.

Khairul said PSM would start a donation drive to help the family and also engage lawyers to represent the family.

The portal contacted Johor Police Chief Wan Ahmad Najmuddin, who said they had not received any complaints regarding the matter.

Amirul was charged under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 over his Facebook postings and his one-year sentence received widespread criticism, with many quarters asking the crown prince to intervene in the case.