The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has ordered an inquest into the shooting in Durian Tunggal, Malacca, last year, where three men were killed.
In a statement today, the AGC said it had reviewed investigation papers and statements submitted by the police before deciding that an inquest be held under Section 399(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The inquest will examine the cause and circumstances of the deaths, including whether any criminal elements were involved.
“In this regard, the decision to hold this inquest proceeding reflects the department’s commitment to ensuring that all relevant facts and circumstances are examined thoroughly, transparently, and independently, in accordance with the requirements of the law,” it said in a statement.
Shooting under scrutiny
On Nov 24 last year, police shot dead three men, aged 24 to 29, after one of them allegedly attacked an officer with a machete.
Malacca police chief Dzulkhairi Mukhtar defended the officers’ actions, saying the attack left a corporal in his early 30s with severe injuries to his left arm.
The victims’ families disputed that account after an audio recording, allegedly from a phone call made by one of the deceased during the incident, surfaced, suggesting the trio had been killed in cold blood.
A post-mortem report disclosed on July 7 appeared to support those claims, finding that two of the men were shot in the head, while the third suffered a close-range gunshot wound to the chest with a downward bullet trajectory.
Lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan said one victim was shot directly in the forehead, with the bullet exiting through the lower right rear of the head.
He added that soot around the wounds indicated the shots were fired from extremely close range.
“That means that the distance between the gun and the wound is very, very small... we are talking about a distance within an estimated centimetres,” he said during a press conference at the Lawyers for Liberty office.
Following the findings, Rajesh said the families want all officers involved in the shooting arrested and remanded on suspicion of murder.
The case has also prompted repeated calls from lawmakers for the investigation to be expedited and those responsible prosecuted.
Among them, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo urged Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar to explain the delay in delivering justice.
Gobind, who is also DAP national chairperson, noted that although police reclassified the case as murder in December last year, no definitive legal action has been taken more than eight months after the incident. - Mkini
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