Noorizwan's death: Case papers to reach AGC Wednesday amid murder probe calls

 

Police will submit investigation papers into Noorizwan Zulkefly's custodial death to the Attorney-General's Chambers on Wednesday, amid mounting demands from his family and lawyers for the case to be investigated as murder.

Bernama reported that Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director M Kumar confirmed this today, nearly five weeks after the 42-year-old's death while in custody for 10 days at the Cheras district police headquarters.

The investigation is being conducted under Section 331 of the Penal Code, which concerns voluntarily causing hurt to extort a confession or information, despite repeated calls by Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) for the case to be classified as murder under Section 302.

Kumar previously said Bukit Aman's Prosecution/Legal Division (D5) took over the investigation after findings from a forensic medicine consultant at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM).

The consultant identified external injuries on several parts of Noorizwan's (above) body, with injury patterns consistent with blunt-force trauma and not self-inflicted.

However, police have reportedly yet to receive the full post-mortem report confirming the cause of death.

Family demands murder probe

Noorizwan died on Oct 1 after being detained since Sept 20, with his family claiming they were unaware of his arrest until receiving news of his death.

His younger brother, Nooranis, previously said that the family only learnt of his death through a text message from a purported police officer, about 18 hours after he died.

Nooranis Zulkefly (right)

"We were not notified of his arrest. My brother was not given the right to inform his family, and the police did not contact us regarding his arrest," he said on Oct 7.

The family was initially informed that Noorizwan had been taken to hospital following a suspected fall while in custody.

However, lawyers representing the family subsequently disclosed that a post-mortem examination had documented 21 injuries, including severe swelling around the skull, bleeding in the brain and intestines, and injuries across his body.

LFL co-founder N Surendran disputed the account that Noorizwan's injuries resulted from a fall and demanded an independent investigation.

On Oct 25, LFL director Rania Aljunied and lawyer Wan Nabila Dina Wan Zamri urged Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar to direct that the case be investigated as murder.

The family also took its demands to Parliament on Oct 27, calling for a parliamentary investigation into Noorizwan's death and broader police accountability over custodial deaths.

They questioned whether police could credibly investigate allegations of wrongdoing involving their own personnel.

The Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC) has separately announced an investigation into alleged police misconduct linked to Noorizwan's death.

Lawyers investigated over alleged harassment

Meanwhile, Kumar today confirmed that police were investigating allegations that several lawyers had harassed a forensic specialist involved in the case.

He said the investigation followed a police report lodged by the doctor, a civil servant.

"The doctor is a civil servant and a police report has been lodged by her. Investigations are ongoing, and police are recording statements from the parties concerned," he told a press conference at Bukit Aman in Kuala Lumpur today.

The case is being investigated under Sections 506, 186 and 189 of the Penal Code, involving criminal intimidation, obstruction of a public servant in the discharge of official duties, and threats of injury to a public servant, respectively.

Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director M Kumar

Kumar said police had recorded statements from the doctor and three lawyers linked to the case, and were also taking statements from Noorizwan's family members.

LFL previously revealed that its co-founders Latheefa Koya and Surendran, alongside lawyer Dina Zamri, were being investigated over allegations that they had pressured HCTM to disclose photographs from Noorizwan's post-mortem examination.

The investigation has drawn criticism from legal figures, including former Malaysian Bar president Ambiga Sreenevasan and DAP lawmaker Ramkarpal Singh, who raised concerns about possible intimidation of lawyers carrying out their professional duties.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail also questioned why the lawyers were being investigated but said he could not intervene in police investigations.

He said the investigation did not necessarily mean the lawyers were being targeted for exposing alleged police misconduct, and that due process should run its course. - Mkini