COMMENT In 2014 to date, we know of six deaths in custody - three in police lock-ups, and three in prison. The names of the victims are A Punniyanatahn (aged 40), J Kolanthangam (34), Ramasamy Nagu (50), Kamurlnizam (39), Koay Soon Guan (41), and N Hairajan (34).
These may just be names and numbers to most of us, but they are real people, leaving behind very real family members, many of whom have lost their sole breadwinner.
The struggle for justice these family’s endure is long and painful. Currently ongoing in the courts this week is the murder trial of N Dharmendran and the inquest into the death of P Chandran, both of which hopefully more will be said in later articles.
Today, I’d like to highlight the case of M Ulaganathan, a 19-year-old boy who died in May 2003.
That is not a typo, this case is no less than 11 years old, and Ulaganathan would have been around 30 this year, only a few years younger than me, had he not met his untimely death.
It was recentl announced that the government finally paid an undisclosed sum of money to Ulaganathan’s mother, Tamil Selwee, essentially as compensation for negligence.
This settlement does not implicate or exonerate the police in Ulaganathan’s death, and officially speaking, his cause of death is still considered unknown.
It is a bittersweet victory for the family, and clearly, a substantial portion of the bitter part lies in the fact that it took as long as 11 years for this semblance of justice to be achieved.
How Ulaganathan died
From what I recall of the press conference, Ulaganathan was eating with some of his friends when the police descended upon them. His friends ran, but Ulaganathan, not being possessed of a guilty conscience, did not.
If I’m not mistaken, those friends were later arrested and charged with murder.
Suaram has an extremely detailed table of the entire sequence of events regarding the death of Ulaganathan and the ensuing legal process.
This includes carefully recorded, extensive details of each visit Ulaganathan’s mother made to Ulaganathan while he was detained, and what she observed of his physical condition.
From these notes we can see that in the 69 days that Ulaganathan was detained (using the revolving door method police use for detaining people indefintely), it was clear that he was being beaten severely, with injuries that suggested torture.
These included swelling and bruises around the eye, swelling bruises on the soles of his feet and back of his legs, inability to sleep and inability to sit due to great pain.
At the end of these 69 days, on July 21, the police called Ulaganathan’s mother to tell her that he had died of asthma.
Painful legal battle drags on
This sad tale of events has repeated itself over the years with alarming predictability. The modus operandi, right down to the ‘died due to asthma’ excuse has changed remarkably little in all this time.
Today, there is slightly better awareness regarding these cases, and although there are undoubtedly still deaths in custody that are never reported, more people are slowly starting to step forward.
In 2003, the situation was different. In fact, PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan (in red shirt) mentioned to me that the only reason Suaram came to know of this case was pure chance.
They were attending the cremation of someone else on the same day and at the same place as Ulaganathan, and the funeral director happened to mention how Ulanganathan had died. Arutchelvan then approached the family, and began the process of helping them find justice.
Tireless human rights lawyer Roger Chan has assisted the family through this 11-year process, pro bono.
Activists pressed for an inquest, but the government refused to pursue the matter. It was only when the family brought a civil suit against the government that an inquest was started, possibly to frustrate the civil suit.
Suaram’s table lists out every single event in this 11-year legal process, which ended in the recently announced settlement.
Dedication and persistence
A tip of the hat to the activists and lawyers who stuck with this process relentlessly all these years, trying to bring what comfort they could to the family. There is no doubt that without these efforts, Ulaganathan’s family would have suffered alone.
Needless to say, this should not be the way of things. As we continue to watch the ongoing legal proceedings in the other cases these few weeks and months, it is imperative that the process does not drag on for years and years as it did in the case of Ulaganathan.
While we are distracted by the never-ending circus of Malaysian politics, hopefully we’ll spare our voices and attention to ongoing cases where the little guy is being bullied in the worst ways possible by a recalcitrant government, far from the public eye.
One of the most touching things in the press conference was when Ulaganathan’s mother said in tears that one of the reasons she persisted in seeking justice was to help ensure that no one should ever have to go through what she has gone through.
As always, whether that hope becomes a reality will be up to you and me.
NATHANIEL TAN tries to cover what death in custody proceedings he can attend on Twitter, @NatAsasi. Theva Rajan of Suaram has kindly volunteered his contact info in case anyone would like to make a donation to the family of Ulaganathan. They need it more than most - thevaraj@gmail, 013 384 5740.
These may just be names and numbers to most of us, but they are real people, leaving behind very real family members, many of whom have lost their sole breadwinner.
The struggle for justice these family’s endure is long and painful. Currently ongoing in the courts this week is the murder trial of N Dharmendran and the inquest into the death of P Chandran, both of which hopefully more will be said in later articles.
Today, I’d like to highlight the case of M Ulaganathan, a 19-year-old boy who died in May 2003.
That is not a typo, this case is no less than 11 years old, and Ulaganathan would have been around 30 this year, only a few years younger than me, had he not met his untimely death.
It was recentl announced that the government finally paid an undisclosed sum of money to Ulaganathan’s mother, Tamil Selwee, essentially as compensation for negligence.
This settlement does not implicate or exonerate the police in Ulaganathan’s death, and officially speaking, his cause of death is still considered unknown.It is a bittersweet victory for the family, and clearly, a substantial portion of the bitter part lies in the fact that it took as long as 11 years for this semblance of justice to be achieved.
How Ulaganathan died
From what I recall of the press conference, Ulaganathan was eating with some of his friends when the police descended upon them. His friends ran, but Ulaganathan, not being possessed of a guilty conscience, did not.
If I’m not mistaken, those friends were later arrested and charged with murder.
Suaram has an extremely detailed table of the entire sequence of events regarding the death of Ulaganathan and the ensuing legal process.
This includes carefully recorded, extensive details of each visit Ulaganathan’s mother made to Ulaganathan while he was detained, and what she observed of his physical condition.
From these notes we can see that in the 69 days that Ulaganathan was detained (using the revolving door method police use for detaining people indefintely), it was clear that he was being beaten severely, with injuries that suggested torture.
These included swelling and bruises around the eye, swelling bruises on the soles of his feet and back of his legs, inability to sleep and inability to sit due to great pain.
At the end of these 69 days, on July 21, the police called Ulaganathan’s mother to tell her that he had died of asthma.
Painful legal battle drags on
This sad tale of events has repeated itself over the years with alarming predictability. The modus operandi, right down to the ‘died due to asthma’ excuse has changed remarkably little in all this time.
Today, there is slightly better awareness regarding these cases, and although there are undoubtedly still deaths in custody that are never reported, more people are slowly starting to step forward.
In 2003, the situation was different. In fact, PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan (in red shirt) mentioned to me that the only reason Suaram came to know of this case was pure chance.They were attending the cremation of someone else on the same day and at the same place as Ulaganathan, and the funeral director happened to mention how Ulanganathan had died. Arutchelvan then approached the family, and began the process of helping them find justice.
Tireless human rights lawyer Roger Chan has assisted the family through this 11-year process, pro bono.
Activists pressed for an inquest, but the government refused to pursue the matter. It was only when the family brought a civil suit against the government that an inquest was started, possibly to frustrate the civil suit.
Suaram’s table lists out every single event in this 11-year legal process, which ended in the recently announced settlement.
Dedication and persistence
A tip of the hat to the activists and lawyers who stuck with this process relentlessly all these years, trying to bring what comfort they could to the family. There is no doubt that without these efforts, Ulaganathan’s family would have suffered alone.
Needless to say, this should not be the way of things. As we continue to watch the ongoing legal proceedings in the other cases these few weeks and months, it is imperative that the process does not drag on for years and years as it did in the case of Ulaganathan.
While we are distracted by the never-ending circus of Malaysian politics, hopefully we’ll spare our voices and attention to ongoing cases where the little guy is being bullied in the worst ways possible by a recalcitrant government, far from the public eye.
One of the most touching things in the press conference was when Ulaganathan’s mother said in tears that one of the reasons she persisted in seeking justice was to help ensure that no one should ever have to go through what she has gone through.
As always, whether that hope becomes a reality will be up to you and me.
NATHANIEL TAN tries to cover what death in custody proceedings he can attend on Twitter, @NatAsasi. Theva Rajan of Suaram has kindly volunteered his contact info in case anyone would like to make a donation to the family of Ulaganathan. They need it more than most - thevaraj@gmail, 013 384 5740.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.