‘Set up IPCMC now and at any cost’.

The latest custodial death involving a Japanese national has thrown Malaysia into the international spotlight, making the establishing of the IPCMC a crucial need, says MyWatch chairman R Sri Sanjeevan.

PETALING JAYA: With nine custodial deaths this year alone, its high time the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) is established, said Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (MyWatch) chairman R Sri Sanjeevan.

“There has been nine custodial death cases in 2013. This is a ridiculous number.

“I’ve always said that the IPCMC must be established at any cost,” Sanjeevan told FMT today.

He was responding to the latest death in custody involving Japanese national Nobuhiro Matsushita, 33.

Sanjeevan, had last week said that only IPCMC would put an end to custodial deaths and disciplinary issues of the Royal Malaysia Force.

Urging politicians to set aside their differences, he said in the current scenario, political leaders “played along with the music”.

“This should not be the case. Crime does not know your identity.

“I call for everyone from both side of the political divide to push for the establishment of IPCMC,” he said, adding that fighting crime is a national issue affecting every single Malaysian.

Sanjeevan also lambasted the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC).

“The EAIC is a total failure because it has not solved the issue of custodial death cases,”he said.

He added that MyWatch is planning to expose a new set of crime statistics soon.

“MyWatch has been exposing statistics on crime, but sometime next week we will expose a new set of statistics involving the policemen themselves.

“It is time for the people to know what’s really happening in the police force,” he said.

No comment from embassy

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had, in an immediate reaction, said that Nobuhiro’s death made the establishment of IPCMC pivotal.

He said the Japanese national’s death had given the issue an international relevance.

He also said that the IPCMC is important to restore public confidence in that there will be no abuse of power or torture in custodial deaths.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Embassy, when contacted, refused to disclose any details with regard to Nobuhiro’s death.

“Since it is related to the privacy of our citizen, the embassy will not disclose any details,” said its representative.

Nobuhiro was found hanging from iron bars with his lock-up shirt at 4am on Saturday at the USJ 8 police lock-up.

A post-mortem performed by Universiti Malaya Medical Centre found he had committed suicide and no other injuries were found on his body.

The Japanese man’s death marks the fourth death in custody case in four weeks.

N Dhamendran, 32, died at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters on May 21 while R Jamesh Ramesh, 40, was found dead in a police lock-up at the Penang police headquarters on May 26.

On June 1, 42-year-old former engineer P Karuna Nithi died at the Tampin police station.