Police marching to BN beat

The public perception is growing that the authorities are all 'partners in crime' by concealing the truth about the many deaths in police custody.

COMMENT

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak reaffirmed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, recently that Malaysia is committed towards becoming a developed nation by 2020.

Painting a cosy picture of a progressive nation, the premier conveniently swept the alarming truth under the carpet – that of police brutality having reached pandemic status in the country.

The rakyat, meanwhile, is worried, angry and frustrated because the federal government continues to belittle the importance of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

Eight years ago, a 634-page report by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the police force, headed by a former judge, revealed that the police were brutal, inept and the most corrupt among the government departments.

Between 1999 and 2003, there were 5,726 formal complaints of corruption involving the police force and it was recommended that the police force be monitored by an independent watchdog.

But Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein continues to disrespect the importance of the IPCMC.

In the meantime, the layman ends up dead under police custody while politicians and offspring of Cabinet ministers continue to roam free despite being implicated in brawls and murders.

Can the Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar explain such travesty of justice?

It was not too long ago when two police officers who were also members of the Malaysian Police Special Action Force were sent to the gallows for the murder of Mongolian native Altantuya Shaariibuu. The two cops were assigned to the Prime Minister’s Department and acted as Najib’s bodyguards.

Altantuya was found murdered in a jungle at Puncak Alam in Shah Alam, her remains destroyed with C-4 explosives on Oct 18, 2006.

If all this is not disturbing enough, the conspiracy between the public hospitals and police to hide the truth behind the deaths in detention makes the rakyat nauseous with the never-ending machinations of the ruling Barisan Nasional to conceal the facts.

In the face of all this troubling scenario, Ismail is going about “re-branding” the police force, saying more degree holders are welcomed to join the force and that his “men in blue” are doing a fine job.

But going by the “track record” of the Royal Malaysian Police, there is no reason for the rakyat to trust Ismail. From rapes in lock-ups to nude squats to bashing up detainees to being trigger-happy to misusing the C-4 explosives, Ismail’s “men” have done it all and the pattern continues.

Why?

Playing police and murderer

Police statistics revealed that 147 people have died in police custody between January 2000 and February 2010.

The deaths included 64 Malays while in police custody, with 30 deaths among Chinese detainees, 28 Indians, eight other races and 14 foreigners.

Going by the frequency of deaths under detention, it gives one the impression that the police find it thrilling to take the law into their own hands; how else does one then explain the number of detainees ending up dead while in police custody?

Will Ismail consider the murdering of civilians who have yet to be convicted by the court a “job well done”?

What is worse is that the authorities concerned keep conspiring to hide the truth about the actual cause of death of a detainee by issuing dubious post-mortem findings.

The latest casualty involved a security guard, C Sugumaran, 40, who was supposedly handcuffed, smeared with turmeric powder and beaten to death by policemen and a mob in Serdang on Jan 23.

As they do always, the police once again denied accusations of abuse of power, their alibi being that a post-mortem report issued by the Serdang Hospital stated heart attack as the cause of Sugumaran’s death.

But Latheefa Koya and N Surendran, the lawyers appointed by Sugumaran’s family, said the Serdang Hospital has a history of falsifying post-mortem findings in favour of the police authorities.

Latheefa and Surendran cited A Kugan’s case where the hospital falsely claimed that Kugan died as a result of water in his lungs when in reality he was beaten to death in police custody just days after he was arrested in 2009.

The lawyers said Serdang Hospital pathologist Dr Abdul Karim Tajuddin was subsequently found guilty by the Malaysian Medical Council of professional misconduct for falsifying the post-mortem findings.

What is the Home Ministry hiding?

In July 2010, DAP MP Gobind Singh Deo demanded the Home Ministry clarify the cause of death behind the estimated 1,500 custodial deaths between 2003 and 2007.

“From 2003 to 2007, why was there no action taken? Why is it that until now the minister is unable to give a report and details?

“I call upon [Home Minister] Hishammuddin Hussein to respond and tell us how did these 1,500 people die? What has been done about their deaths?” asked Gobind.

On June 23, 2010, Gobind forwarded to Deputy Home Minister Abu Seman Yusop a copy of a BBC report titled “Malaysia pressed by UN over detentions without trial”.

The report, published on June 18, stated that the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, during a visit to Malaysian prisons and detention centres, found that between 2003 and 2007 “over 1,500 people died while being held by authorities”.

Gobind had said Abu Seman replied that no police reports were made and the ministry would only take action once a report is lodged.

If the Home Ministry thinks it can take the easy way out in dealing with the issue of custodial deaths, it better think again.

For one, the rakyat knows the police dance to the tunes of the BN leadership; the rakyat is aware too that the post-mortem findings in cases of custodial deaths are unreliable and the rakyat has come to the conclusion that BN will do whatever it takes to avoid the topic of IPCMC because it wants the police to be its “partner in crime”.