Jan 282009
Lawyers address a crowd inside the University Hospital premises
Riot police take up positions as an officer orders the crowd to disperse
This was the scene outside the University Hospital at about 1.20pm today. Police probably outnumbered the crowd as half a dozen riot police trucks waited along Jalan Universiti outside the hospital.
Kugan is expected to make his final journey to Puchong today.
I hope this will close the long chapter of the deaths in police custody over the years and usher in an era of greater professionalism, accountability and respect for human rights and due process.
You think so anil this is Malaysia we are talking about,this was only the tip of the iceberg.
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Instead exploiting the issue to score cheap political points, the politicians of all stripes must ensure that such deaths do not recur. They must press for structural and policy changes and not just making sure the deceased receive justice in this case.
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I am sitting in my parents’ house, wondering why there are so many helicopters flying around my area. Then it hit me: The house is a mere 10 minutes walk away from the Tai Pan police station where Kugan reportedly died. It is surreal, to think that someone died in such a brutal manner at a walking distance away from my family home!
I noticed that there is a long jam on the Federal Highway heading towards KL. I wonder whether that has anything to do with Kugan’s funeral procession too.
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I hear a lot of noise near my house … cannot tahan. I’m going to investigate
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There was FRU trucks and personnel around the police station. A sizeable number of people had gathered around the area – mainly opposite the road. There was a mini traffic jam around the area as a result.
Apparently, I was told that the funeral procession was already there, but I didn’t notice it, so much so when the crowd dispersed I was really puzzled. Around 3.50pm, the FRU trucks suddenly moved out in a hurry. I can tell you that it’s incredibly weird to see FRU trucks near my home. Who would’ve thought!!
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Kugan is not the first and will not be the last. We all know that. Even if he is a car thief (at this moment there is no point argueing over this), he does not deserve to die such a horrible death.
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end of custodial death? i would like to say yes but i’d rather say… FAT CHANCE!!! looking at the way how the police react (and also the botak homey minister), do you think custodial death or even custodial brutality will end?
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The police are still not getting the message that Malaysians are all sick and tired of their high-handedness and abusing their positions to harass and intimidate and even hurt the very people they are supposed to protect. Elsewhere, the Chief of Police (in this case the IGP and the Home Minister) should have tendered their resignations to take responsibility for the death of A. Kugan,….. No, instead the 11 policemen implicated in the death of A. Kugan are given cushy desk jobs in air-conditioned offices at the State Police Headquarters. Where is the justice? How can they expect Malaysians to have faith in the system if these things continuen to happen?
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… his soul will rest in peace. life is mortal but the soul is immortal. the soul will live on to inspire the living. one has to live an honourable life, no matter waht. nothing perishes without leaving a trace for the living to be inspired or remorseful. let’s live a good life. the wrong be punished and the vanquished has its soul resting in peace.
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Dear Anil,
Can you comment on the Star report below in your blog which tries to implicate Hindraf in a murder… I find it a bit odd and sensational and smell a rat somewhere….
Published: Wednesday January 28, 2009 MYT 5:00:00 PM
Updated: Wednesday January 28, 2009 MYT 6:05:25 PM
Murder suspect nabbed at Kugan’s funeral procession
By MAZWIN NIK ANIS
PUTRAJAYA: A murder suspect was arrested during the funeral procession of A. Kugan, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said.
He said when arrested, the suspect was wearing a t-shirt depicting the outlawed Hindu Rights Action Force movement (Hindraf).
Musa however, declined to reveal details of the man or his arrest.
“Suffice to say that we have arrested the man and we will carry out investigations on him, on his criminal activities and whether he is a member of Hindraf,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
Kugan, 22, who was held under a two-week remand for investigations into several luxury car theft cases, collapsed and died at the Taipan police station in Subang Jaya on Jan 20.
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I am amazed how sometimes, the police got so much personnel for certain events. I refer to Kugan’s funeral. Besides truckloads of police personnel, there are many helicopters flying.
A few days ago, a baby girl of hardly 1 year old was raped. Not only I was shocked by such a disgusting and cruel act, I was even more shocked that there was no public outcry.
Why? I can only presume that such things are very normal here in Malaysia and very commonly heard that it does not shock the average Malaysia. If a baby was raped in a foreign country, there would be such a big public outcry. Refer to this and get shocked
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/National/2434827/Article/index_html
The police should concentrate on patrolling neighbourhoods as crime is so rampant. Residents are so scared to even come out of the house nowadays.
When we do come out, say to throw the rubbish, we have this fear in us, a fear that should never be in any person, especially, a person living in a supposedly safe country.
Ask anybody and they can relate to you how an old grandpa or grandma got their gold chain pulled out from their neck whislt throwing their rubbish outside their gate. And due to the injuries sustained, they either died or are paralysed.
Children cannot even go out to play. Unlike our days when we were young, children cannot climb trees or play guli or gasing (marbles or tops). They sit at home playing Nitendo Wii or Playstation 3.
Why? One of the main reasons is the fact that parents, out of fear, do not allow children to go outside the gate.
The situation is so bad, that not only robberies and thefts happen in neighbourhoods, lots of sex perverts hang around, either to rape or molest.
And in the above case, even babies now get raped.
The police should concentrate in safeguarding the public. All we want to do is walk safely and get some fresh air. Even this basic right now is denied.
There are enough policemen around to safeguard the whole city. We saw this in July last year when there were massive roadblocks in the Klang Valley to curb protestors. Every corner we saw policemen with machine guns guarding the city. It felt so safe then.
Now we see it again today at Kugan’s funeral, thousands of police personnel are patrolling the streets.
So the arguement that we do not have enough policemen personnel is false.
The police, instead of, for instance, arresting morners, should concentrate their force in patrolling neighbourhoods to make people feels safer.
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Dear Anil, Sy Hamid, Musa and Khalid must be held fully responsible for the death of suspects in police custody.
This time, the highest authority must act against them.
The Rakyat has had enough of their stupid rhetorics and lies.
Do not let these …. tarnish the good name of the police force in Bolehland.
These … leaders are not fit to sit in the office.
Don’t waste our money, the tax payer’s money.
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How come no representatives from MIC and PPP at the funeral?
Did u get scolding from UMNO?
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I was there at the funeral procession and everything was peaceful. The amount of resources and money spent by the police force just for today is beyond words. Seems like they were looking for some action to take place, then they will have a story to write about and music to harp on.
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Sarah, There were no MIC/PPP representatives visible. They may have pulled out as usual otherwise they will be criticized for going against the government. Time and again, they prove that whatever they do it is for their own political mileage and never to serve the people. Its the ‘what’s in it for me, attitude.’ With this conclusion, do they really think that they can ever win the Indians to vote for them?
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Where are the PDRM, FRU and helicopters when children go missing? PDRM works at amazing speed in some cases but (in others it doesn’t appear to) work at all. Also wondering how they manage to nab suspects in criminal cases at the funeral? Amazing since there is still no news on Nuruls murderer or whatever happened to Sharlinie. …
At the same time no matter how unprofessional PDRM has been , MPs especially should work for justice behind the scenes instead of attending Kugans funeral since he is not been proclaimed innocent yet as well.
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Death in police custody
The following are extracted from an article by Gomez:23
The purpose of this paper is to consider the law relating to the remand of an accused person, the safeguards accorded by the law as well as the actual problemsandabusesofthesystem.Practicaldifficultiesandreallifeexamples
will be used to bring out the magnitude and seriousness of the situation. The paper also sets out proposals for changes and the way forward.
The Big Picture
Certain minimal rights of man based on the concept of “equality and liberty” were recognised early in human civilization. These were accorded international recognition in the Universal Declaration of HumanRights1948 and to some extent incorporated into the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. The Judiciary in Malaysia is entrusted as the guardian of these rights under
23 Gomez, Jerald, Advocate and Solicitor, High Court of Malaya, “Police Powers and Remand Proceedings” [2003] 2 MLJA 129.
the Constitution. To further enhance the protection of such rights a National
Human Rights Commission was established in 1999 under the National Human Rights Act. The Act specifically incorporated that “regard shall be had to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights …”
Abuse of s 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code
Consideration of the abuse of s 117 detentions and the need for reforms
cannot be done in abstract, but in relation to the interest of a democratic society and the rights and personal freedoms of the individual.
It has often been said that an important measure of society’s civilization is
the extent to which human rights are respected and protected within the
context of criminal proceedings. On the other side of the coin are the rights
of society protected by the Government who must do so within the laws
promulgated by a democratically elected legislature (Parliament).
The Balance
A balance must be struck between the interests of society and that of the individual. In discussing the individual’s personal freedom in the context
of criminal procedure, Lord Denning said:
“It must be matched with social security, by whichI mean, peace and good order of the community in which we live. The freedom of a just man is worth little to him if he can be preyed upon by the murderer or the thief. Every society must have means to protect itself from marauders. It must have powers to arrest, to search and imprison those who break its laws. So long as those powers are properly exercised, they are safeguards of
freedom. But powers may be abused, and if those powers are abused, there is no tyranny like them.”
The Judiciary: The Balancer and Protector
The duty of keeping this fine balance has been entrusted to the Judiciary. In the words of the former Chief Justice of India, PN Bhagwati, in his paper on Human Rights in the Criminal Justice System:
“The task in a democracy governed by the rule of law is entrusted to
the judiciary and it is the judiciary which has to find a dividing line so
as to harmonise the two interests without over emphasising one to the
detriment of the other.”
The judiciary is the ultimate protector of the individual’s rights and liberties.
It also keeps the fine balance between the common good of society as a whole
and the rights and liberties of the individuals who make up that society.
Therefore, all the writer can do apart from sharing his own experiences is to highlight what has happened to people who have been arrested, those few of which have been reported in the press. It cannot be proven who committed thecrime.Theconclusion isyours to makebased onyourpersonalexperience and from the brief facts that we are allowed to know.
The Abuses
It must be appreciated thatthe police have extensive powers. They have power to detain people and keep them in places to which others have no access.
There is an expectation of society that the government and their law enforcement functionaries deal with criminals in an efficient and effective way and bring to justice those involved in crime. But the cure cannot be worse than the disease itself.
A Core Problem
In remand proceedings, the problem seems to persist. It continues even though judges have decided on, pronounced and declared the law. Most, if not all decisions on remands, are made by magistrates. The checks and balances do not seem to be working. There is something amiss.
Death in Police Custody for the Period 1993—2003 as Reported in the Malaysian Press
OnApril13,1993,theNewStraitsTimes(“NST”)reported:Policesaidteenage fisherman Manaf Mat died while in custody of prison authorities and not under police custody. Manaf died in Alor Star General Hospital on February 8, 1993, nine days after he was arrested for alleged drug possession.
On May 13, 1994, the NST reported: Police detainee found dead in cell. A 45year-old detainee was found dead inside the Klang police station lockup. Lim defaulted supervision after serving sentence for dadah offences in 1990.
On May 15, 1995, the NST reported: An air-conditioner mechanic detained by police under the Emergency Ordinance 1969 to facilitate investigations into a financial institution break in March died under detention.
On May 19, 1995, the NST reported: City Police Chief, Datuk Ismail Che Rus has denied that the death of a 40-year-old air-conditioner mechanic while in police custody was due to internal bleeding.
On October 11, 1995, the NST reported: Attorney-General, Datuk Mokhtar Abdullah ordered a judicial inquiry following dissatisfaction with police failure to identify the person or persons responsible for the death of an air-conditioner mechanic in a police lockup.
On November21,1995,theNSTreported:A policeofficertoldtheMagistrate’s court that the suspect identified as detainee No 37/95 was found dead, naked and in half-kneeling position at the Police Remand Centre, DSP Paul Keong, who is PRC commandant said.
OnNovember 22, 1995,theNSTreported:Adetainee was in the interrogation
roomforover96hoursatthepoliceremandcentrebeforehediedseveraldayslater. On November 23, 1995, the NST reported: A detainee at the Police Remand Centre complained of being assaulted at an interrogation room where he had been kept for four days. The complaint by detainee Lee Quat Leong
was made to L/Cpl Khalid Ahmad who told the court that Lee however,
did not tell him who had assaulted him.
On November 24, 1995, the NST reported: Ateacher, Daniel Hasni Mustaffa, who is Lee’s friend and former neighbour said, Chief Inspector Ng Koh Siew
denied the deceased was assaulted while in detention.
On November 25, 1995, the NST reported: Mechanic Lee Quat Leong who
died while being detained at the police remand centre had succumbed to subconscious bleeding caused by violent blows on many parts of his body, a forensic pathologist told the Magistrate’s court.
On November 29, 1995, the NST reported: Eleven policemen including the City Deputy Head of Criminal Investigations were criminally involved in
the death of mechanic Lee Quat Leong at the police remand centre.
On January 18, 1996, the NST reported: Adetainee collapsed in the lockup of the District Police Headquarters and died on the way to the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang.
On July 4, 1997, the NST reported: A 25-year-old man who was detained for suspected car and motorcycle thefts was found dead in a toilet at the Cheras Police Headquarters.
On December 21, 1997, the NST reported: The Perak Police Chief Deputy Commissioner, Mariman Mohd Taib said the police were awaiting postmortem and chemist reports pertaining to the death of Othman Mohd Hashim in a police lockup in Parit. Othman, who was detained for alleged theft, was found hanged with a towel in a lockup.
On September 2, 1997, the NST reported: A second-hand car dealer, R Shanmugam, who was found dead at the Kampong Tawas Police Station lockup, was in police lockup for 66 days. The death certificate issued by the hospital authorities stated he died of hanging.
On February 10, 1998, the NST reported: The Selangor police offered to
record statements from seven Indonesian workers who claimed to have watched their colleague being assaulted by two plainclothes detectives. As a result, the victim died in police custody at the Seri Kembangan Police Station.
On March 4, 1998, the NST reported: The Police said that the cause of death of the 36-year-old labourer while in police custody at the Bentong District Police Headquarters was liver failure. However, the victim’s wife claimed
that there were a few bruises on her husband’s body and hands and legs.
On April 15, 1999, The Sun reported: The police are investigating the death of a 20-year-olddrugsuspect at theNilam Puri Police Stationtwo hours after his arrest. Police were about to take him to the Kota Bahru Police Headquarters when they found him dead in the lockup.
On March 17, 2000, the NST reported: The Bar Council today called for an inquest into the death of a man while in police custody four months ago. Francis Nathan, 21, who was held for questioning in connection with dadah related offences, died at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital on October 26, 1999.
On April 29, 2000, The Sun reported: A 22-year-old assistant driving instructor who drowned in the Malacca river four years ago after escaping from police custody was found to have been handcuffed at the time of his death, a sessions court was told today.
On May 20, 2000, The Star reported: A widow who is suing the police and the government claimed that her 31-year-old husband was taken from her
house by policemen in August last year and brought back “as a corpse”
eight days later.
On May 20, 2000, Berita Harian reported: A woman whose husband died while in police custody at Rawang Police Station last year, filed a summons against the Royal Malaysian Police Force and the government of Malaysia for damages amounting to RM682,400 (Pada Mei 20, 2000, Berita Harian
melaporkan seorang isteri yang suaminya mati ketika dalam tahanan
polis di Balai Polis Rawang tahun lalu, mengemukakan saman menuntut gantirugi sebanyak RM682,400 daripada Polis Diraja Malaysia (“PDRM”) dan Kerajaan Malaysia).
On June 13, 2001, Harian Metro reported: A detainee was killed from injuries
to the head, ribs and other parts of the body as a result of being assaulted
by other detainees in the Setapak Police Station lockup (Pada Jun 13, 2001, Harian Metro melaporkan seorang tahanan terbunuh apabila cedera di
kepala, rusuk dan beberapa bahagian lain akibat dipukul sekumpulan
tahanan lain di lokap di Balai Polis Setapak, di sini).
On January 26, 2002, the NST reported: A man has sued the officer in charge of the police station in Parit, Perak and two others for negligence involving the death of his son in the police lockup a day after his arrest on December 16, 1997.
On August 5, 2002, Malaysiakini reported: Suhakam had begun probing the mysterious deaths of two suspects detained at the Putrajaya police station lockup. On June 21, 2002, a 20-year-old waiter died at the Putrajaya Hospital afterhe was sent there from the lockup.Another suspectdiedat the Putrajaya Hospital on July 28, 2002 after spending more than a week at the lockup.
On February 10, 2003, The Star reported: According to police, a suspect who fell to his death after questioning at the district police headquarters had minutes earlier confessed to killing a bank cashier.
On March 14, 2003, The Star reported: ABarisan MP had voiced his concerns over the image of the police, citing cases of criminal acts committed by police officersincludinghavingsexwithfemaledetainees.Hesaidstatisticsbetween year 2000 and last year showed 44 detainees died in police detention. These should not be regarded as isolated cases. He proposed the setting up of a special commission to conduct research on how to improve the force, and the formation of an independent body to investigate and prosecute police who had committed offences.
On April 8, 2003, The Star reported: The Inspector-General of Police said that six policemen, including one or two “senior police officers” were found to have abused their powers during a raid at the Palm Court apartments. The police had rounded up 196 people including 186 Indian nationals, most of whom were IT experts. The Indians had complained of physical abuse by the police and some claimed that their passports were defaced.
[Emphasis added.]
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