HOUSE OF HORROR: List of people who died while in the custody of the M'sian police: 8 in 5 months!

SUARAM released a statement on the 12 of March 2013 entitled  "Deaths in Police Custody List for 2013- This has to end". The  sad truth however is that for many detainees and their families the nightmare has not ended.

Below is the death list for the year 2013 to date as compiled by the SUARAM deaths in custody monitoring project.

Date	Name	Age	Place
14-Jan-2013	Chang Chin Te	30	USJ8
23-Jan-2013	Sugumaran	39	Batu 14 Cheras
01-Feb-2013	Mohd.Ropi	43	Temerloh, Died at the Sultan Ahmad Shah Hospital
10-Mar-2013	M.Ragu	47	Kampar
17-Mar-2013	UNKNOWN	55	Seri Alam Johor
21-May-2013	N. Dharmendran	32	IPK KL
27-May-2013	Jamesh Ramesh	40	IPK Penang
1-Jun-2013	P. Karunanithi	42	IPD Tampin

Unfortunately the list is sure grow longer by the end of the year.Interrogation methods and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in handling suspects must be urgently reviewed and reformed. The police force must undergo an immediate overhaul and provide urgent training in basic human rights and the proper and humane treatment of prisoners and detainees. At present the police force act with absolute impunity and if this state of affairs is allowed to continue, the number of cruel and avoidable deaths in custody will continue to rise.

SUARAM calls for the setting up of an independent oversight mechanism to make sure the Royal Police of Malaysia respect human rights and performs its duties in accordance with the law. Civil society have consistently backed the call for an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), since it was first proposed by the Royal Police Commission back in 2005 in order to probe these deaths in custody and hold the perpetrators to account.

SUARAM demands an immediate end to these serious human rights violations. The failure to ensure effective mechanisms to hold the Malaysian police accountable highlights a serious lack of political will by the government to take genuine steps to reform the police force in this country.

Thevarajan R is the SUARAM Coordinator