A rape victim’s case was not only grossly mishandled by the police but also badly managed by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

When she went public with her story, apparently, this was what a police officer said to her - “(The police officer) told me what I did (uploading the Facebook post) is wrong, and that the assailant will pursue legal action if I don’t take down the post. I was also told to present myself at the station for my statement to be recorded.

“I asked him what wrong I had committed. He didn’t answer, and he never followed up with me on the matter,” she said.

Pay attention because this is an important point this rape survivor makes when Seputeh MP Teresa Kok rightly raised her case in Parliament.

As reported in the press, “I am speechless with the answer from the Home Ministry. The answers on paper differ from what is happening in reality, as none of the PEM stages (standard of notification) were applied in my case.”

The abyss between what’s spoken and what’s known

This is what the state relies on. On paper, there are procedures in place which would make the state security apparatus look like a transparent and accountable organisation.

But the reality? If you want to understand the kind of attitudes in the state security apparatus when it comes to women, you only have to look at the incident in Malacca where two women were turned away from lodging a report because they did not observe the dress code.

Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo was correct when he said, “The immediate focus of the police officer on duty should have been to assist the victims in recording the details of the incident, and not turning them away as in this case.”

But then again, the police seem to be focused on other issues. When they are not busy with moral policing, they have a history of self-investigating and covering up alleged crimes.

In the horror that was the Wang Kelian human trafficking camps, where hundreds of migrants were suspected to have died, Bukit Aman released a statement saying that no police personnel were involved.

Never mind that the evidence was tampered with. Never mind that there was circumstantial evidence of wrongdoing. Never mind that political operatives from the highest levels of the government were repeating the same denials as the state security apparatus, despite there having been no independent investigation.

Again, doesn’t all of this remind everyone of the cover-up Anwar was raging against in 2009 and in events which are taking place now?

And who could trust the police anyway? They have asked the public to help locate M Indira Gandhi’s criminal ex-husband, but the reality is (there is that word, again) that the state security apparatus had always known where he is.

A former IGP has admitted this - “The public does not know where he (Riduan Abdullah) is, but I know. I urge him to come forward so that this matter can be solved amicably.”

‘It’s not shocking anymore’

Throughout the year, when the nefarious actions of the police have been dragged out into the light, all Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail does is deflect from the issues, carry water for the police, offer conflicting and unsubstantiated views, or do nothing unless ordered by the cabinet.

Meanwhile, Saifuddin is up to his neck in the Fifa/FAM scandal, and guess who investigates his actions if there is ever an investigation? That is right, the police.

Muda central committee member Rashifa Aljunied begins her excellent piece with, “Unfortunately, we live in a reality in which police violence isn’t shocking anymore.”

Which says a lot about the iconic image of the black-eyed Anwar.