THERE are still some in the police force who are accustomed to the old ways of eliciting information on crime and those of suspect.
“Thus, eliciting information forcibly and roughly is the major cause of deaths in custody.
“Moreover, the belief among police personnel that they are immune from prosecution and punishment causes some of them to act irresponsibly,” Penang deputy chief minister Prof P Ramasamy said.
Recently, S Sivabalan, died under the custody on the Gombak district police headquarters. This is the second death in custody involving the same IPD as earlier, A Ganapathy, a cow milk trader, died after allegedly being beaten using rubber hose repeatedly while in custody.
Gombak police chief Arifai Tarawe has denied the charges and even sued a news portal for publishing several articles on Ganapathy’s death for defamation.
Selangor police chief Datuk Arjunaidi Mohamed said that an autopsy conducted by the Kuala Lumpur Hospital found that Sivabalan died due to heart attack.
“An inspection of the body was also conducted in the presence of their direct family members.
“The outcome of the inspection found no physical injuries on the body,” he was reported saying.
Ramasamy said that from the custodial deaths reported so far, it looked like those who fall victim are those from the working class, irrespective of their ethnic or religious background.
Working class, Indians falling victim
However, he added that the Indian community seems to top the list, suggesting there is a perception that the community has a natural affinity with crime.
“And this myth of Indians’ association with crime must be demolished. If not, the criminalisation of Indians might go unchecked with dangerous consequences,” the Perai state lawmaker stressed.
On a related matter, Klang MP Charles Santiago called for the Government to form a public inquiry of the matter, with members from the National Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) and the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) taking the lead.
The lawmaker added that there were conflicting statements given by the deceased’s family and police, which warrants further investigation.
“While the report says Sivabalan died at 12.25pm, the police called his sister at 3pm, informing her that he was critically ill at the Selayang Hospital.
“So, I’m not interested to wait for the police to conduct its investigation because it’s ridiculous. Plus, all officers who handled Sivabalan’s arrest must be suspended pending the probe’s outcome.
“We have had one too many deaths in police custody and disproportionately, involving ethnic Indians,” he lashed out.
On his recommendation, Santiago said that Suhakam and EAIC has the capacity and experience to conduct such investigation, but the mandate has to be given by the Government.
“Both the agencies can co-lead in the investigation but the Government must act fast. Firstly, the team must confiscate all evidence such as CCTV recordings, messages and other documents related to case. Time is of the essence.
“This is also a way for newly minted Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani to redeem our police force’s battered image among the public,” he opined.
Santiago also urged Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to intervene on the matter and announce such appalling thing will not happen anymore.
“And Muhyiddin should back his words by establishing the Independent Police Complaints of Misconduct Commission (IPCMC). Anything other than that is a complete farce,” he remarked. – May 22, 2021.
