Following the death of detainee Umar Faruq Abdullah @ Hemananthan at the Klang Selatan district police headquarters yesterday, former human resources minister M Kulasegaran has called for the government to conduct a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the overall issue of custodial deaths.
This came amid a number of recent deaths in custody involving Indians.
"Another piece of sad news has emerged. Lorry driver Umar Faruq Abdullah, an ethnic Indian man, has died and this is the third case of custodial deaths reported in 15 days.
"His death follows that of security guard S Sivabalan, who died at the Gombak police station on May 20. A week later, Surendran Shanker died after being held at the Simpang Renggam prison in Johor.
"Let us not forget the tragic death of cow milk trader A Ganapathy, who died while in hospital on April 18. There were many before them yet to be accounted for," Kulasegaran (above) said in a statement today.
It should be noted that Selangor police chief Arjunaidi Mohamed told the media today that Umar's death was due to a botched escape attempt, after he had tried to jump from the second floor onto the first floor of the police station while being escorted by an investigating officer.
“While the investigating officer was escorting (Umar) from the office to his cell, the deceased pushed the investigating officer, then fled to an open window and jumped.
“The deceased fell onto the concrete divider between the first and second floor, then fell onto a motorcycle in the tarred parking lot,” he said, adding that the fall caused injuries to Umar's face and skull.
Kulasegaran pointed out that the number of ethnic Indians dying in custody was cause for alarm.
"There are at least 29.4 million Malaysians. Of this population, only 6.9 percent are of Indian heritage, according to the Department of Statistics and yet the deaths among Indians in custody seem to be higher relative to other communities in terms of percentage of the population," he said.
The Ipoh Barat MP cited a report by human rights NGO Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) in 2017 that nearly 55 percent of police custodial deaths recorded by them were reported to be Indians.
"When will this stop? Why are all these men of Indian ethnicity? Can the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government give us any answers?
"These tragic deaths are happening too often and I propose that the inspector-general of police (IGP) and the police come out and explain what is going on.
"I have urged the police to take up the pledge of 'zero death' in custody, yet these deaths are still emerging, under this new IGP," he said.
The DAP national vice-chairperson said that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin should not shy away from such a pertinent human rights issue.
"The time has come for an RCI to be set up to investigate all these custodial deaths. The issue is systemic and requires an external impartial investigation.
"We could take heed from the US to address institutional racism especially in relation to George Floyd's death.
"An independent commission announced its findings on April 27, with the publication of a detailed report that alleges the existence of systemic racism inherent in police violence against black Americans, which they argue constitutes crimes against humanity," Kulasegaran added.
LFL wants IPCMC revived
Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) coordinator Zaid Malek called the custodial deaths an alarming trend that calls for immediate action by the government.
"Unfortunately, the government, and specifically the home minister, have thus far failed to provide concrete explanations or take any immediate action to stem the mounting number of deaths in custody.
"The police cannot be relied upon to investigate these deaths on their own, as there is a clear conflict of interest that would cast doubt on the integrity of their investigations," he said in a statement.
The police, he said, have traditionally been defensive on the matter, issuing statements denying responsibility for the deaths even before investigations are concluded and even threatening the public for commenting on the issue.
"An example is the warning issued by the Gombak police chief after the death of Ganapathy that those who speculate on his death will be called for questioning," Zaid added.
He said that the time for an independent oversight body to monitor the police is long overdue, and that the discussion is not complete without reference to the establishment of an Independent Police Complaints of Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).
"We strongly urge the government to revisit the now-scrapped IPCMC Bill 2019 and reconsider bringing it into force. With the emergency in place, the government has the power to bring the Bill in the form of an ordinance for its immediate implementation.
"It must be an effective Bill, the powers of the IPCMC must not be diluted; it must be able to freely investigate and take necessary actions regarding their finding against any officers who have been found guilty of misconduct or unlawful actions.
"Independent and impartial investigations will mean fairness to both the victims as well as the police force," he said, urging the government to take all necessary steps to ensure the elimination of custodial deaths and the ability to take decisive action if it does occur.
"The integrity of the justice system is at stake and the longer the government delays this, the numbers of custodial deaths may continue to increase," he added. - Mkini
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