The lawyer representing the family of last year’s Batu Arang shootout victims have given the police chief, home minister and attorney-general 14 days to explain the whereabouts of G Moganambal.
In a statement, lawyer P Uthayakumar said the home minister, inspector-general of police and attorney-general had yet to reply to nine letters sent over the alleged “enforced disappearance” case.
Moganambal, 35, is the wife and sister of two of the three men police shot dead and had gone missing following the Rawang incident on Sept 14, last year, which family alleged was a “kidnap and murder" case.
The three deceased are S Mahendran, 23, Moganambal’s brother Thavaselvan, 31, and her husband V Janarthanan, 40, a Sri Lankan national with a British permanent residency.
Police at the time, however, claimed Moganambal was not present in the car during the incident and said they were searching for her to facilitate investigations.
“Today marks the 170th day since Moganambal was ‘kidnapped’.
“[...]Despite our nine letters the home Minister, attorney-general (AG) and the inspector-general of police (IGP) we are yet, to receive a reply nor have we been informed of the whereabouts of the enforced disappeared victim G Moganambal, also a British permanent resident,” said Uthayakumar.
The current home minister is Hamzah Zainudin while current Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin helmed the ministry up to March 2020, while the current AG is Idrus Harun who took over from Tommy Thomas who resigned last February.
The IGP remains Abdul Hamid Bador.
'No laws authorising shooting of suspects'
Uthayakumar alleged that authorities have yet to provide, among others, the CCTV footages of the four victims leaving their condominium the day before the shooting, post-mortem reports and burial certificates, police vehicle dashboard camera recordings, audit report on police bullets and guns, as well as statements made by the victim’s families.
As such, he said the authorities must respond with an explanation as to Moganambal’s whereabouts within two weeks, failing which he would assume her to be dead and would commence filing a civil suit.
“Article 5(1) of the Federal Constitution read with the United Nations Convention on Enforced Disappearance which has been duly signed by Malaysia guarantees the right to life and liberty and there are no laws in the country authorising the shooting dead of mere suspects.
“[...]As per our letter dated June 10, 2020, to the home minister, AG Idrus Harun and IGP Abdul Hamid Bador, they must confirm in writing with the family's lawyers within 14 days especially on the whereabouts of Moganambal, failing which we shall presume that she was also shot dead along with her husband, brother and Mahendran and we shall proceed to commence legal proceedings accordingly vide a civil suit without any further notice,” his statement read.
The family had claimed that Moganambal and her husband had returned to Malaysia to visit a sick relative and the couple had gone to have dinner with the other two deceased the night before the shooting.
A family member lodged a missing person report when the four failed to return home but learned the next day that the three men had been shot dead by police in the early hours of the morning.
Police, however, claim two of the deceased were triad members with criminal records and had been involved in robberies, and that officers adhered to standard operating procedures during the shootout and had to defend themselves.
The family disputes this.
The family of the Batu Arang shootout victims have also decided to boycott an inquest into the deaths and are instead demanding for the police officers responsible be charged for murder. - Mkini
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