Commit to probing deaths in custody, Suaram tells police force

Reforms to reduce deaths in police custody should begin with a willingness by the authority in charge to be held accountable, according to human rights group Suaram.

Suaram programme manager Dobby Chew (above) said commitment to this by the officer in charge would ultimately assist efforts to initiate investigations and provide closure in such cases.

"I think the biggest reform that can be done is from the police.

"We have a good example last year in Selama, where the police chief in charge of the station contacted EAIC to do an investigation immediately (over a reported death in custody)," Chew said at a press conference after launching the Malaysia Human Rights Report 2019 overview in Kuala Lumpur.

He said this when asked for comments on procedural reforms that could be done to improve efforts to provide closure for family members of those who died in police custody, other than going through an inquest.

It was reported last month that family members of a death in custody victim from Perak had waited 33 months for an inquest to be called, allegedly due to a lack of cooperation by the parties involved.

Suaram's report recorded six deaths in police custody between January to October this year, compared to eight cases last year.

'Amendments to existing laws not required'

Commenting further, Chew pointed out that a commitment from the police would not require any amendments to existing laws or procedures.

"Most of the time, and let's be realistic, of 10 cases of deaths in custody in a year, maybe two or three will have an element of abuse or violations.

"Those cases you can't run away from it. If your officers have done something wrong and caused death, don't try to run away from it because, eventually, that truth will come out," Chew said.

At the same time, he noted there would be other cases with less clear cut circumstances that required an investigation to determine the actual cause of death.

Barring a commitment from the police, Chew noted that the number of recorded death in custody cases could decrease and increase over the years, with little reforms to its underlying factors.

Suaram adviser Kua Kia Soong (photo) said it would take more than just numbers, in this case a slight decrease in deaths in police custody cases, to compare the track record of BN and Pakatan Harapan governments in the protection of human rights.

"One of the basic credentials, is there detention without trial?

"So long as a government still retains detention without trial, it will not get a pass for human rights," Kua said.

He earlier launched the report together with Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy.

'Have medical units at lock-ups'

Speaking from the audience, Suhakam commissioner Jerald Joseph said a proposal has been made to the government to set up medical units in police lock-ups.

Jerald said this would help to determine whether the deaths were due to natural courses or other factors.

"We cannot just take the numbers (of cases) as is, we need to know the cause of death," he added.

Other than deaths in police custody, the Suaram report also recorded 37 deaths in Immigration detention last year, and added that it was unable to obtain the figure for deaths in prison. - Mkini