Tian Chua, once again in the spotlight. Now he is being charged with biting a policeman. However, the judgement of the magistrate leaves much to be desired. Certainly Chua appears innocent in the Court of National Opinions. Unfortunately, the judiciary has once again entangled itself in a mesh of inconsistency and perhaps subjugating itself to political influences.
The background is that during a BERSIH rally calling for fair and just elections, Tian Chua was forcibly stopped on his way to Parliament. He was then dragged out of the car by several policemen and in that ensuing struggle, the policeman hit him in the face and allegedly, Tian Chua bit him back with the only retaliatory measure left open to him as his other limbs were being restrained by police personnel.
If the police has decided to resort to harsh tactics for arrest, then they should be well prepared for retaliation and injuries ensuing from scuffles are part of the process. Are you going to sue every individual that has left bruises on their bodies? Certainly Tian Chua was just a juicy political target. Police in this instance had no respect for a Member of Parliament. Take Najib for example, during the Altantuya murder trial, his name was mentioned several times, yet the police resisted from taking him in for questioning. Nobody is above the law? Yea right!!
The most ludicrous fact is that there was no hard evidence that Tian Chua bit him. There was no direct video evidence nor were there witnesses. However, the judge “believed” that it took place and thus passed judgement. Certainly in the Court of National Opinion, the judge is guilty of corroborating with the prosecuting team aka Government. How can he pass judgement based on loose facts? The manner of which the accused was arrested was physically brutal to say the least. Under those circumstances and the fact that there is no evidence of the act, Tian Chua should have been freed!!
Our judiciary in under scrutiny and once again, so long as the members of the bench is elected by the ruling Government, there can be no impartiality or independence. This is pure common sense and certainly BN leaders know it, but till today refuses to budge as relinquishing their stranglehold on the judiciary will likely lead to a torrent of lawsuits against them. They will also then not be able to ‘control’ the opposition as they so wish.
Similarly, the MACC can never be credible when it remains under the purview of the Prime Minister. They should similarly be independant and perhaps put under the authority of the Parliament.
These things are not new and such opinions have been voiced time and time again. Unfortunately, the Government has turned a deaf ear. The electorate knows why and that will perhaps lead to a defeat in the next General Elections.
