The families of three men who were shot dead by the police in Durian Tunggal, Malacca, personally submitted the full audio recording of the incident to Bukit Aman today.
They submitted the recording after claiming that no investigating officer had contacted them for it, despite lodging police reports.
According to the family’s lawyer, N Surendran, the audio, which was recorded by the wife of one of the victims, is critical evidence that captures the final moments before the men were shot dead on Nov 24.
“This recording is unedited. It was recorded by Jayashree (one of the victims' wives) herself.
“It is extremely important evidence. However, the families were forced to come to Bukit Aman because no police officer came to ask for the audio recording.
“And there has been no communication between the police and the families about what happened, despite being informed since Wednesday,” Surendran told reporters outside Bukit Aman.
The audio recording was handed over to Bukit Aman’s head of the Classified Criminal Investigation Unit, Ta Kah Loon.
Conflicting claims
Three days ago, the families of three men rejected the police’s account that the victims had attacked officers, citing an audio recording of the incident.
Jayashree managed to record a phone conversation with her husband, G Logeswaran, 29, during the incident.
She said based on the recording on Nov 24, the three could be heard cooperating with the police as they were being detained.
She also said the recording did not indicate the victims behaving in a threatening manner as alleged.
Subsequently, Bukit Aman announced that it had established a team to investigate the case, including the police reports lodged by the victims’ family members.
‘Nonsensical apathy’
Meanwhile, Surendran claimed that the police unit only accepted the evidence after being pressed by the families.
He also questioned the police's commitment to the investigation, describing the failure to collect key evidence as "nonsensical".
“How can an investigation begin when even the most important evidence hasn't been taken?
“The families had to travel from Perak and other states simply because no officer had reached out to them. What kind of investigation is this?
“We’re very disappointed. No point talking about a transparent investigation when you don’t even collect the most important evidence,” he added.
‘Why no immediate action?’
Another lawyer representing the victims' families, Rajesh Nagarajan, claimed the audio evidence and autopsy findings were sufficient for the police to record statements and arrest the officers responsible for the incident.
“Where is the immediate action? Why hasn’t there been any arrest yet? Even the Plus highway CCTV recording has not been checked.
“The families are forced to conduct their own investigation because the police still haven't started anything after 72 hours,” he said.
Additionally, Surendran confirmed that the audio recording submitted to the police today is authentic.
“We have all listened to this audio. It’s enough to give an idea of what happened,” he said.
Surendran also demanded that the case be expedited, in line with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's frequent insistence that Malaysia is a nation that adheres to the rule of law.
“The PM himself likes to say this is a nation of law. So, prove it and take immediate action based on the evidence provided,” he stressed.
Last week, Malacca police chief Dzulkhairi Mukhtar claimed that his team had no choice but to open fire at the men, aged between 24 and 29, after one of them swung a machete at a police officer at a palm oil plantation in Durian Tunggal.
The incident, which occurred at 4.30am, allegedly caused a corporal, in his early 30s, to suffer severe injuries to his left arm.
Yesterday, Anwar ordered the police to conduct an open and transparent investigation into the case. - Mkini
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