Convenient Inquests: Are the police trying to hide the truth?

An Inquest is an inquiry by the judiciary to ascertain the facts relating to cases involving death. And in Malaysia it seems almost too convenient that the police keep requesting for an inquest whenever it is stuck in a sticky situation.

Sarbaini’s kin has rejected Putrajaya’s decision to hold an inquest into the death of Selangor Customs assistant director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed and called instead for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI).

The inquest, to be presided over by Coroner Aizatul Akmal Maharani, was set for July 4 to 15 at the magistrate’s court.

Did the police do their job

In a similar vein, the police has also requested for an inquest into the deaths of Muhammad Shamil Hafiz Shapiei, 15, Muhammad Hanafi Omar, 22, and Hairul Nizam Tuah, 20, who were gunned down by the police after a high-speed car chase in the early morning of November 13 last year at Glenmarie, Shah Alam. It has since been revealled that at least two of the young men were gunned down at point-blank-range while on their knees.

These inquests follow on the heels of the inquest into Teoh Beng Hock’s inquest which returned an open verdict subsequently leading to a RCI.

A pattern of events is slowly beginning to crystallize where the police have clearly been inept in handling cases such as Sarbani’s death, the Glenmarie shootings and Teoh’s death. An inquest merely raises the question of whether the police have really done their job.

Why has the MACC not been taken to task for being negligent in ensuring the safety of the two men, whilst they were in the compounds of their offices?

Both Sarbani and Teoh fell to their death in the compounds of the MACC offices. In both cases, the police report stated that it was “death from a fall” which is definitely the obvious cause yet the report does not point out who or what why did the deaths occurred in the first place.

This inability to ascertain why the two died lead to the request for an inquest by the police.

Manipulative powers

An inquest still remains within the manipulative powers of the government of the day - at least in Malaysia. The police force answers directly to the Prime Minister, and so does the MACC. The Attorney General, Abdul Ghani Patail was the persecutor in Sodomy 1 and largely seen as pro-UMNO/BN. And it is his judiciary that handles the inquest.

Unlike a RCI which reports to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong and largely is independent from the tentacles of the government. So there is no surprise why there is more faith in an RCI than an Inquiry conducted by the judiciary.

The request for an inquest into the death of Sarbaini and Glenmarie Shootings, is done in poor faith and does no justice to the family of the decease. The authorities are not sensitive to the bereavement suffered by the family members of the victims who have suffered enough for too long. A delay in ascertaining the truth behind the deaths of Sarbani and the Glenmarie boys is merely prolonging the anguish of their families.

Hiding and protecting

An inquest is heartless and the Attorney General and police are at fault for causing protracted pain towards the families of the deceased. Something the BN government has been silent on and grudging to address despite constant pressure by the Opposition and various NGOs.

The Attorney General is withholding relevant information from the public. Why did he agree to an inquest as requested by Putrajaya and the police? What part of the investigation report that was submitted to him is deemed inconclusive to the extent as to prompt an inquiry? Are the police and AG afraid to open a can of worms and implicating their guilty colleague in such cases?

Is the AG afraid to take to task the MACC - a body that answers to Najib Razak and which could open up more incriminating truths regarding Najib’s administration?

It really is a sad thing, that the truth can easily be withheld from the public and even more heartbreaking for the families of the victims. It would be such a shame if the AG was indeed working in tandem with the police force, and together they are bent on protecting the hidden and criminal elements in the government.

- Malaysia Chronicle