Botak 11: Forgiven but not forgotten?

I was aghast to read newspaper reports about 11 senior citizens who had been arrested for \’gambling\’ during Chinese New Year and who had their heads shaved bald while being held in a police lock-up.

It was not the charge per se or the application of our laws against gambling that bothered me; it was the fact that these senior gentlemen had their dignity and honour – or face – abused.

While I am extremely delighted that the case has apparently been resolved for the 10, I hope the police will review their own worldview of power and abuse, even if this appears as an isolated case.

It would be a sad state of affairs if \’gambling\’ occurs uncontrolled in public places everywhere in the country. It is good that the police are strict in apprehending gamblers in public places but this case involved friends who have enjoyed playing mahjong during Chinese New Year celebrations.

Those concerned were said to be only betting to pay for food and drinks. Presumably, they do this only during the lunar new year celebrations.

But the police personnel involved deemed this to be \’gambling\’ and taught the 11 a lesson they will never forget. Their heads were shaved bald which, an officer argued, was a legal and procedural right of the police.

Who is right and who is wrong? Unless we think the issues through, we may all forget and forgive. To err is human; to forgive divine. But, pray let us all not forget what happened.

While the Selangor CPO was pleasant about the whole thing after the fact, these men did have their dignity and honour abused. This should not be forgotten by all of us, especially those responsible for the \’incident/accident\’.

I hope the police deal with their own in a way that the police force does not misuse \’force\’ again. Unless permitted by law, and it is established as absolutely the last resort to solve a problem, force should never be used.

Two serious issues

What really bothers me are two very serious issues: one, why was it so important for the police to take action against \’celebration gaming\’? Second, are these gentlemen not innocent until proven guilty in our system of law?

Let us all try to understand the legal and cultural underpinnings of both these questions before we brazenly go around arresting people and abusing their dignity, as if we are the morality police.

To me, this case is no less a violation of the dignity and human rights of these men, as was the \’nude squats\’ case. In this case, the fact they were Chinese and that it was Chinese New Year is very critical and an important factor. It is the context, when interpreting any law.

Let me explain my concerns. If we understand and appreciate what Chinese New Year really is about, we would appreciate and understand Chinese philosophy and worldview regarding their celebrations.

More than that, we would appreciate the underlying beliefs and cultural assumptions of their celebrations. To many of them it is a cultural event and has very little to do with religious beliefs per see.

Obviously, the police officers and constables have not taken the time to appreciate or understand Chinese culture and their meaning of such celebrations. And because of their lack of appreciation of Chinese culture and philosophy, they chose to act as the morality police in a non-technical issue, rather than as investigators of an issue of law.

Cultural aspects

An integral part of lunar new year celebrations is the coming together of the family at a fellowship meal and the corresponding preparations and celebrations which last almost a month.

Firecrackers, lion dances, and \’gaming\’ of various sorts abound, as do specific cultural foods, dress and paying respects to the elders, especially to the departed. I believe these cultural activities are all part and parcel of their celebrations.

There may also be a deeper and more spiritual meaning to all these activities, which I have not fully understood yet. Suffice to say that these are more than isolated cases of \’gambling\’ or lighting firecrackers to chase out bad spirits and usher in good luck.

Now, if we understand and appreciate mahjong within this context, it would be no different from a bunch of modern-day golfers celebrating a performance bonus with a round of golf, with even a bet to pay for dinner afterwards.

Can we consider this to be gambling? Would we raid a golf course and take the \’perpetrators\’ to court but, before that, shave their heads bald?

I am not sure of the specific facts of this case, but surely the 11 were not \’gambling without a license\’, in the strictest sense of the law. What is their real crime, even if tokens were found in the vicinity? Surely it is not \’gambling\’ when a group of friends get together and play a round of cards, even if they place a bet.

As someone said to me recently, this Chinese New Year culture of gaming is \”only viewed as re-assigning money which is already earned among friends or relatives, in the spirit of celebration\”. Surely, the police are not going to investigate and charge every family in every home which has some kind of \’gaming\’ going on.

Similarly, surely the police know better than to charge the owner of every car wrongly parked during prayers on a Friday or outside church on a Sunday. If such grace can be allowed every Friday or a Sunday, why not equal grace for a once-a-lunar year Chinese celebration?

Abuse of dignity

More importantly, why was the dignity of the seniors abused? In all Oriental cultures, fathers are heads of the family and the holders of the family honour. Often, their silver hair is called their crown of glory.

The shaving of the head also has religious or spiritual significance, although sometimes done voluntarily or for the fun of it.

In this incident, the police shaved the heads of these senior gentlemen against their wishes, and even before they were proven guilty in a court of law! Whose values and laws are we really following?

What I am most fearful about is the possible thought in the mind of the duty officer. I fear most that he was trying to teach these \’non-religious people\’ that they should not violate public space by gambling. That is morality policing, not criminal policing.

The cabinet has decided that Malaysians do not need morality policing. As the poor victims said, they \”should not have been treated like common criminals\”.

In our constitution-based system of the rule of law, every citizen is innocent until proven guilty. That is a basic human right of every citizen. This principle cannot be violated even if a repeat offender is involved.

How then can the police take such arbitrary action? Who gave them the right to pass judgment? On what basis do they say they have the right to give an arrested person a haircut, as the CID chief claimed.

I think there is something fundamentally wrong with our system of justice and crime prevention if the police become more serious perpetrators of wrong doing, or at least match the citizens in the number and quality of wrong doing.

To me, those who shaved the heads of these gentlemen have violated all courtesies, both in law and in Chinese culture and all our eastern traditions.

No one should forcefully shave anyone\’s head. The three questions asked by the victims remain relevant: Is it lawful for the police to shave our heads during detention? Is it wrong to gather for a game of mahjong during the Chinese New Year? And, why did the police spoil our celebrations?

The police force needs to get its act together. Please do not wait for another commission or even the proposed police complaints body to be set up.

The police should know what it right and wrong by law. If not, please resign before more damage is done to the battered image of the force.

By the way, a crazy thought: Should they be called the \’influence police\’ instead the \’police force\’, which appears to justify and amplify the use of force?