This comes just days after the police questioned two others in relation to the film, followed by a raid on their office and home.
Suara Rakyat Malaysia’s (Suaram) executive director Sevan Doraisamy, project coordinator Muhammad Alshatri Abdullah and advisor Kua Kia Soong were questioned for nearly one and a half hours today, along with Misi Solidariti’s Sharon Wah.
The four-minute animated film titled “Chilli Powder & Thinner” is said to be based on the testimony of a 16-year-old boy who was allegedly arrested and beaten up by police along with two other individuals in a case that was initially highlighted by Suaram.
“There were nearly 50 questions regarding the film, and while the police were quite professional… I just feel that this whole saga is a waste of time,” Sevan told FMT.
“The questions were mainly about who was the creator of the animation, what was it about, and what message it was trying to send across.”
Suaram previously joined hands with FreedomFilmFest, an annual human rights documentary film festival organised by the Freedom Film Network (FFN), in a campaign to urge Putrajaya to set up an Independent Police Complaints of Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).
The campaign featured feature-length and short documentaries, including some in animation form, that highlighted police brutality against those in custody.
Wah was a panelist at the forum held after the premiere of the animated film on June 12, which shows the boys being tied and beaten up with wooden sticks and rubber hoses before their bodies were smeared with chilli powder and coated with thinner.
On Friday, police raided the office of FFN just an hour after its co-founder Anna Har and cartoonist Amin Landak were questioned at Bukit Aman over their involvement in the film.
Like Har and Amin, the quartet is being investigated under Section 500 of the Penal Code for defamation, Section 505 (b) of the Penal Code for statements that could cause public alarm and distress, and Section 233 (1) (a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA) for improper use of network facilities.
The film was released on the back of four deaths in custody from mid-April to June which had been widely covered by local media.
On June 17, police summoned a Free Malaysia Today journalist to Bukit Aman to question him on his article about the animated film.
Rajsurian Pillai, one of the five lawyers representing the four, told FMT that most of the police’s questions today were regarding the connection between Suaram and the launch of the film.
“The police were quite professional, and on our side, we gave them our full cooperation and told them to call us if they needed any information,” he said.
“We’re not running anywhere.”