JULY 24 — There has been talk that lead singer of British indie rock band The 1975 Matt Healy should be arrested by the authorities.

Arrest deprives a person of his personal liberty, which is a fundamental right as provided under Article 5 of the Federal Constitution.

As such, arrest must be done in accordance with the law, which provides for the power to, grounds for, and manner of, arrest.

More than 20 years ago in the case of Saul Hamid Bin Pakir Mohamad v Inspector Abdul Fatah Bin Abdul Rahman & Anor (1999) High Court Judge Zaleha Zahari (as she then was) said as follows:

"The legal position [is] as follows: The power of the police to arrest is governed by written law and is as prescribed by Section 23(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.”

Section 23(1)(a) allows the police to arrest without warrant any person who has been concerned with any offence committed anywhere in Malaysia, but the offence must be a seizable offence under the law.

Further, there must either be a reasonable complaint against the person or credible information has been received or a reasonable suspicion exists of his being concerned with the seizable offence.

As at noon on Saturday (July 22), Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan was reported to have told Free Malaysia Today that no police reports had been lodged and that the police would be asking the organisers of the Good Vibes Festival to provide more details about a controversial incident involving the performance by the British band.

A day later Hussein was reported to have told The Star that members of the band had left Malaysia on Saturday (July 22) morning.

So, how to arrest in accordance with the law when there was no reasonable complaint or credible information or reasonable suspicion?

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.