Karuna Nithi's brother joins march for IPCMC

The older brother of P Karuna Nithi, who died in police custody in 2013, was among a group of some 50 people gathered outside Parliament today to demand for the setting-up of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

"I want justice...I want actions to be taken against the police," P Elam Sezhian told reporters this afternoon after joining a delegation of 10 representatives from Gabungan Tuntut IPCMC to hand over a memorandum with their demands.

"We will see whether they will take action or not. Earlier I'm not happy with the new government because they are also same like the previous government.

"They all waiting for what? Now we wait and see," said Elam Shezian (photo above) when quizzed on his hopes for IPCMC to be set-up soon.

Lawyers for Liberty representative Zaid Malek, who accompanied Elam Shezian, said the IPCMC would serve to provide swift justice to family members of death-in-custody victims.

"Even though he (Elam Shezian) has a verdict in his favour, no action has been taken against the police thus far.

"So with IPCMC it would have brought justice quicker and earlier. We don't have to wait six years for justice," said Zaid.

On Jan 28, 2015, Seremban coroner Jagjit Singh ruled that Karuna Nithi (photo) was beaten by police and inmates - a verdict challenged by the government - but later upheld by the Seremban High Court in 2017.

Another two years have passed and the Attorney-General's Chambers, which initially filed an appeal against the High Court verdict, had in February this year filed a notice of discontinuance of its appeal for revision of the findings.

Karuna Nithi was first remanded at Tampin district police station in May 2013, following an altercation with his wife and was further detained there when his family could not raise his bail after he was charged.

The engineer was found dead in a lock-up at the police station on June 1, 2013, and CCTV recordings from his lock-up showed him being assaulted by police and other detainees while in the cell.

He was found with 49 injuries, mostly bruises, all over his body. - Mkini