The doctors who were questioned by police a little before midnight to the wee hours of the morning said they were not given any choice, contrary to claims it was done at their convenience. Speaking through their lawyer, Asheeq Ali Sethi Alivi, the doctors said they were instructed to give their statement the moment the police arrived. “If the police were really considerate, the doctors would have been allowed to choose a more convenient time for them to give their statement,” he said. Asheeq Ali added that any statements taken to facilitate an investigation should be done at the doctor’s convenience to prevent them from having to give it under duress. Earlier today, Selangor police chief Arjunaidi Mohamed defended the questioning of doctors at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) treatment centre, explaining that it was carried out at such odd hours for the doctors’ own convenience. The doctors were questioned between 11.45pm and 3.50am. Arjunaidi said the doctors were questioned at that hour as their shift was from 8pm to 8am, adding that it would be inconvenient for them to be questioned after work as they would be exhausted. He added that the doctors were giving their statements over the alleged intrusion by six journalists who wanted to cover the strike at the treatment centre. However, Asheeq Ali said the actions by the police in recording the doctors’ statements very late at night or in the early hours of the morning was unlawful and indefensible. “Especially when it involves doctors working at a Covid-19 quarantine centre,” he said, adding that he also viewed the recording of the doctor’s statements in the middle of their graveyard shift as a form of intimidation. He called for the police to put an end to such practices. Source
