HER abusive husband bashed her up in front of two policemen and they did nothing to help her - that is the shocking claim of a 37-year-old Seremban woman.

The woman, a mother of five, alleged that in the incident that took place two days ago, her husband beat and kicked her when they bumped into each other in Bukit Chedang.

She claimed that a passing police car stopped but the two policemen simply watched as her husband assaulted her, reported the New Straits Times.

"They handcuffed him only after I snapped their pictures with my handphone and threatened to take the matter to their superiors."

The woman claimed the abuse has been going on for years. She alleged she was constantly beaten and tortured with hot metal rods by her husband.

Finally, she plucked up courage and obtained an interim protection order from a magistrate's court against him this month. But even that allegedly did not stop him.

Within days of getting the protection order, she was assaulted in front of the two policemen.

The woman, from Taman Permai, claimed that her repeated complaints to the police have fallen on deaf ears because her husband was a former policeman.

She told Berita Harian Malaysia that he said that all the policemen in the area were his good friends and no one would arrest him.

"Tossed aside"

She alleged: "The police reports I made were just tossed aside and no action was taken. From the reports I made, complete with proof of facial and body injuries, he was remanded only twice. And he was then released on police bail."

She alleged that he even tried to harm her by cutting the brake lines of a car.

She said her 48-year-old husband was arrested recently after she threatened to take the matter to the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman.

Despite having burn marks and bruises on her body, medical reports and witnesses willing to testify on her behalf, she claimed her husband was never charged.

He is now under remand but she is afraid that he might be released again.

"He even beat up my daughters when they tried to protect me when he assaulted me," she claimed.

"The only ones who seem to be paying attention are the doctors at the hospital who treat me every time I get beaten up.

"In fact, they (the doctors) are the ones who told me to get help from the media. They have seen this happening to me too many times."

She said there were times when she came close to losing the will to carry on, but hung on for the sake of her children.

Currently living in a wooden hut with her daughters, she is also finding it tough to make ends meet.

She runs an eatery and business had suffered after the only access road was cut off by a development project.

"We try to get by with whatever little I can make. It gets even harder now with Hari Raya coming. I feel so sorry for my children. They do not deserve this kind of life."

She claimed she had approached leaders and elected representatives before, but none of them helped her.

She added that she had also sought help from the Welfare Department but claimed that she was only given some rice two months ago.

She hopes that officials from the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry will look into her problems and protect her family.