At a press conference, Santiago gave details of three teenagers who were allegedly beaten up while being hung upside down.
He said in one case, Ang Kian Kok, 16, and two of his friends were detained at the Banting police station for alleged robbery.
In a police report sighted by FMT, the Banting magistrate’s court ordered the police to release Ang and his friends.
Police later re-arrested the trio and placed them under custody at the Klang police headquarters.
The police report, lodged by Ang’s mother, alleged that the trio were beaten up by the police while being hung upside down.
Santiago said these boys had no prior record.
Santiago also brought up another case involving Mikail Quay, 16, who is currently admitted to hospital after allegedly being struck on the head with a baton while apparently trying to escape a police roadblock.
Mikail was out on a Saturday night, riding a motorcycle without a licence, when he came across the roadblock, according to Amirul Quay, his father.
“A police officer suddenly came out of the bushes and struck his helmet until it broke.
“They then made him push his motorcycle about 50 metres to the roadblock, where he collapsed on the curb,” Amirul said.
Mikail is currently warded at Hospital Shah Alam, with severe fractures in his skull, right eye socket and the nose. There is also minor bleeding in the brain, his father said.
Santiago said it was an offence to escape a roadblock and to drive a vehicle without licence, but the police should not use brute force against youths.
“Mikail doesn’t deserve to be subjected to such treatment. He might suffer from brain damage or loss of vision in future. He’s only 16.
“Yes, he has committed an offence. Charge him in court or reprimand the parents for negligence. Just don’t beat him up.”
Santiago called on the home ministry to intervene.
Santiago said Malaysia is a signatory to the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child, which obligates a country to take the best interests of any child into consideration and forbids use of torture.
South Klang district police chief ACP Alzafny Ahmad, when contacted by phone for comment, said: “I refuse to give a statement on the phone because I don’t know you. Sorry.”
FMT has contacted Selangor police chief Abdul Samah Mat and Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed for comments and is awaiting their response.