Dr Thanenran Renganathan, of Serdang Hospital’s cardiology department, was reported to have been kicked to the ground and handcuffed by members of an elite police unit seeking suspected criminals at the food stalls outside the hospital.
Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy said the group was appalled at the statement by the ministry’s deputy director-general Dr S Jeyaindran in response.
Dr Jeyaindran was reported to have said that the police should not be solely blamed as they were merely doing what they did best, and that “at the end of the day, this should be treated as a learning experience for both the police and us”.
Waythamoorthy said: “It appears that the Health Ministry is willing to accept the behavior of the police force and condone its ability to intimidate, harass, oppress and terrorise an individual such as the doctor whose dignity and basic human right had been trampled upon with such impunity.”
He said the ministry’s inability to stand independent and question the abuse of police investigative power would “liberate the police force” in degrading a person’s basic human value and dignity. It would only encourage the perception that public institutions were merely tools of the government, he said in a statement.
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