Family demands probe after labourer died in custody in Pahang

 

The family of a labourer who died in police custody in Pahang last month has urged the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) to conduct an investigation.

According to a written complaint by human rights group Suaram and Gerakan Guaman Rakyat (Gegar), which represent the family, Muhammad Hidayat Abdul Halim, 44, was arrested on Oct 8 and died less than 48 hours later, on Oct 11.

The family claimed the police did not inform them of the grounds for Hidayat’s arrest, nor did they specify where he was being held until some 10 hours later.

“We understood that the victim was arrested at the Pekan district police headquarters under Section 15 (1) of the Dangerous Drug Act (possession and consumption of dangerous drugs).

“The victim did not have any health problems and was in good condition during the arrest,” Suaram and Gegar stated in their complaint.

Hidayat was found dead on Oct 11, and a post-mortem report by the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital in Kuantan indicated he died from sponteneous intracranial bleeding, also known as a stroke.

He is survived by his wife, a homemaker, and six children aged between six and 19 years.

According to Suaram and Gegar, the police stated in their report on Hidayat’s death that the victim was vomiting before his death, and officers had administered paracetamol.

“The question is why did the victim not receive immediate treatment causing the complications to worsen,” the written complaint added.

The family and the groups hope Suhakam will investigate Hidayat’s death to determine whether negligence or abuse of power was involved while handling the victim.

Suaram said this is the 12th custodial death recorded by the group.

The family has made two police reports on the incident at the Kuantan district police headquarters and is demanding a fully independent and thorough investigation.

“We want a fair and impartial probe to find out why a 44-year-old man died just like that,” Suaram and Gegar said.

'We will investigate'

The two NGOs handed the complaint to Suhakam commissioner Lok Yim Pheng this morning at Suhakam’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

The complaint document was signed by Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy, Gegar director M Jay Raj and lawyer Syazwani Mansor from Mohd Ashraf, Nik Zarith & Co.

In a phone interview, Lok told Malaysiakini that Suhakam was only aware of the incident when the family and the groups submitted their memorandum today, and he promised that an investigation would be carried out.

“We will investigate and determine whether anything went wrong,” she said.

At the time of writing, the Pekan district police headquarters has not responded to requests for comments.

Meanwhile, Suaram and Gegar urged Suhakam to lobby the government to establish the Independent Police Complaints of Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

The two groups argued that the IPCMC could not only probe and collect evidence on complaints, but also act on police misconduct.

Gegar added that it wants Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (Parliament and Law) to discuss with Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani on introducing a Coroner Bill.

It said such a bill, similar to those in Singapore and the United Kingdom, would strengthen law enforcement in the country. - Mkini