Mother of autistic boy arrested on birthday told him it was part of a movie to calm him

Celebrating her son’s 22^nd birthday was supposed to be a joyful occasion; however, Hasnah Abd Rahman’s evening would soon turn traumatic both for her, and her boy, who is autistic, and make national headlines.

Last Tuesday, Ahmad Ziqri was blowing out birthday candles at his favorite restaurant, Logenhaus, when he asked his mother if he could go outside and have a look around at the shops. Allowing him to go, as was his usual routine when he was in the area, the events took a quick turn for the worst, when Ahmad reportedly touched a passer-by on her chest.

https://www.facebook.com/hasnah.rahman/posts/10156623546929603

Calling Hasnah careless, the adult victim’s father shouted at Hasnah, and made a police report against Ahmad, resulting in his arrest.

Video footage of Ahmad in shackles being led into the courtroom shared on Facebook is heartbreaking. One can only imagine how the young man must feel with the frenzy of events that surround him. His mother explained that with the mental capacity of a 13-year-old, Ahmad does not understand the consequences of his actions, nor why he was arrested.

Telling local outlet, The Star that she tried to assuage his feelings by explaining he was in the popular local film Gerak Khas, she hoped that the events would not scar him. However, she reported that when he returned home from police remand, he was withdrawn, unwilling to change out of his clothes, and not eating.

Empathetic as to how scared the victim must have felt, Hasnah only wishes that the police had handled the situation differently.

“If everybody were to sit down and listen to explanations, look at the medical report and then later judge for themselves, and [only then] make the necessary arrangements,” things may not have panned out as unfortunately as they had, she said.

More importantly, she asks that police adopt standard operating procedures when dealing with suspects with disabilities, so that these incidents can be handled more sensitively.

Police asked for police a four-day remand for the suspect, something his mother explains would have been detrimental to her son’s health. However, the judge disagreed, and allowed Ahmad to be released on bail. He faces charges of outraging the victim’s modesty.

Welfare services will be making a visit to their home today, and Hasnah hopes that they can help in getting through to her son.

First responder training with local law enforcement would allow for police to be aware of signs that a suspect is on the autism spectrum, understanding that such individuals might have an impaired sense of danger, or not respond to simple commands, and proceed in a manner that would support the individual, while avoiding traumatizing them even more.

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