The government has been urged to appoint a special prosecutor and allow the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) to prosecute the suspects in S Balamurugan’s death-in-custody case.
Klang MP Charles Santiago said the government appeared to have washed its hands off the case after Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s statement that it would not be setting up a special commission to investigate Balamurugan’s death.
Zahid said the case had been handed over to the police and EAIC for further investigations.
“This is an irresponsible act because we know any investigation by the police would be an internal process.
“No one will know what is the final outcome of the investigations,” Charles said at a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.
On Feb 22, inspector-general Khalid Abu Bakar had said that the police were investigating one of their officers who is believed to have defied a court order for Balamurugan’s release.
Commenting further, Charles pointed out that the EAIC is only empowered to make recommendations to the authorities based on its investigations.
“The EAIC can only recommend that it has no prosecution powers. They will go nowhere. We are asking for prosecutors to work with the EAIC to bring the perpetrators to court,” Charles stressed.
In a written reply in Parliament on Monday, Zahid said his ministry would not intervene in the case of Balamurugan, 44, who died in the North Klang police lock-up on Feb 7 after allegedly being abused.
He was arrested on Feb 6, when he was found in the same car with two other men, one of whom was wanted by the police.
Lawyer Gerard Lazarus, who represented Balamurugan during his remand hearing, reportedly stated that the magistrate had ordered the victim's release and for him to be taken to the hospital as he had coughed up blood during the proceedings.
However, Balamurugan remained in detention and died in police custody.- Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.