The National Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) said it is currently investigating the deaths of an unidentified Nepalese male as well as those of Surendran Shanker, S Sivabalan, and Roopan Karnagaran, all of whom died while in custody.
“Many Malaysians in the last few weeks have seen many reports of deaths in custody and I think Suhakam supports the call by many NGOs and lawyers that for every death of custody, there should be an inquest to ascertain what happened and why this person died in custody.
“Among the cases that are undergoing investigation by Suhakam is a Nepalese prisoner who died at the Kluang Prison in Johor,” said Suhakam commissioner Jerald Joseph at a press conference today.
He said the unidentified male allegedly committed suicide on May 30.
The commissioner also mentioned that Suhakam was investigating the deaths of Surendran Shanker, S Sivabalan and Roopan Karnagaran.
Surendran, 21, died while in custody on May 27 at the Simpang Renggam Prison also in Johor while 43-year-old Sivabalan died at the Gombak district police headquarters on May 20.
Suhakam had previously said they were looking into the death of 25-year-old Roopan Karnagaran, the 12th reported death in custody case this year.
Joseph said while he hoped there would be no more deaths in custody in the future, he acknowledged there may still be cases of people dying in custody due to natural causes like illnesses, due to the poor conditions in detention facilities.
“There are cases where people may die of natural reasons. However, we have to find out if it was actually natural or if it was due to the conditions in the police station or detention centres that caused these detainees to fall ill,” he said, adding that it could also be due to negligence in maintaining cleanliness or elements of abuse.
The commissioner added that although authorities had every right to arrest, they must also ensure that detainees’ health was taken care of when in custody.
When asked about the results of their previous investigations into custodial death cases, he revealed that Suhakam had concluded that while the police were not directly responsible for the deaths in those cases, there were elements of torture that may be indirectly linked to the police.
“We have come to the conclusion that sometimes it is due to health negligence, sometimes it is failure to adhere to court-directed procedures to send someone to the hospital quickly.
“We have (also concluded that there were) torture elements involved, sometimes (the deceased) being beaten up by other inmates and this not being stopped by the prison or police authorities.
“If there is a fight, of course, it is not the fault of the police or the prison but it is the duty of the police and the prison (authorities) to stop the fight and separate them and ensure they are safe,” noted Joseph. - Mkini
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