'Explain mystery behind shooting of Penang 5'

Questions continue to be raised about police action in shooting dead five men alleged to be triad members in Sungai Nibong, Penang on Monday. 

State MIC Youth head J Dhinagaran(left), while expressing support for efforts to combat crime, said action must be taken “in a fair manner, without (resulting in) anyone questioning (the) credibility (of the police)".

"Although the police have been getting kudos, there have been questions as to why the police did not attempt to detain (the five)," he noted in a statement.
 
Family members had claimed that the five had beene asleep when the police ambushed them at the Century Bay service apartment at 4.30am,  pointing out that the bodies were found in separate bedrooms.

Dhinagaran said that, if the men had been awake and there was a shootout as police have claimed, their bodies would have been found in the front room.
 
"This is a mystery which the police will have to explain. It raises the suspicion that the police were not intent in detaining them,"he said.

Saying that the wing does not condone crime, he explained that it is duty-bound to raise the questionsbeing asked by relatives of those who died.

Police have said the five were believed to be members of the 04 gang and were suspected to be hired killers wanted for murders or attempted murders in Penang, Kedah and Negri Sembilan.

At a press conference on Monday, police had said that three guns - a Silver Norinco, a Silver 38 revolver and a Black Walther PPK - had been found on the deceased.

In response to the various queries, state police chief Abdul Rahman Hanafi insisted that his team had followed standard operating procedures in handling the situation.

However, Dhinagaran asked how the police could have arrived at the conclusion that - following the shooting - they have solved the murders in Penang (seven), Kedah (two), Negri Sembilan (one) and two attempted murders in Penang.

"If the police had an indication, why didn’t they attempt to detain (the five)? Why only come out with a statement after killing them?" he asked.

He urged the police not to be trigger happy but to take proactive action to detain criminals and bring them to justice by applying laws that do not infringe on their basic right to a fair trial.

Funerals for the five - J Gobinath, 31, R. Ramesh, 27, A Vinut, 23, M Suresh, 25, M Gobinath, 21 - were held yesterday in Penang and Seberang Perai.

Community being targeted?

Penang Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy expressed sadness and distress for not being able to do much for the families of the five, lamenting that he has even been scolded because they were shot "execution style".

"The police action has further depressed the Indian (Malaysian) community, which feels that it has been targeted and blamed for the recent rise in crime without any justification," he toldMalaysiakini.

"The Indians are in a confused state, the lives of the families of the dead men are shattered, and many ask why this is happening to this community only," he said.

"The police seem to see crime from a narrow angle. They need to probe the source of the crime and not just look at the incidence of crime.”

Ramasamy said the "docile" Indian Malaysian community has been long marginalised and deprived of proper education and jobs over the 56 years under Umno-led rule of the federal government.

He claimed that the targeting of Indian Malaysians will only create divisions between communities and not root out the source of the problems - which can only be done by finding out why many in the community resort to a life of crime.

"Our country is civilised, but what happened to the rule of law? How about the calls for an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission? Have we forgotten all this?" he queried.

Ramasamy denied suggesting that the five men were innocent, but said the truth will never be known now because they were not apprehended to face a trial.

He questioned if the rise in violent crime over the past two months in particular have been “created” to justify police action.