Courageous Heart: death in detention

Showing posts with label death in detention. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

EAIC Is Unable To Cope, Form IPCMC Now!

By Boo Su-Lyn. Published by The Malaysian Insider on 4 June 2013.

The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) has acknowledged it is hamstrung by only having one investigating officer to probe complaints of misconduct against 19 enforcement agencies, as public outcry grows over deaths in police custody. It also has an annual budget of just RM7 million.

EAIC CEO Nor Afizah Hanum Mokhtar said the commission has 23 staff members, including the investigating officer, clerks, a driver, legal adviser, administrative officer and an operations director.

“We have very limited manpower,” Nor Afizah Hanum told The Malaysian Insider in an exclusive interview at her office here yesterday.

“We had six investigator posts that we got from MACC. They withdrew five on 16th May,” she added, referring to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Amid the outcry over recent deaths in police custody, there has been growing calls from the opposition and the Bar Council for the government to set up an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

The Malaysian Bar, civil society groups and several politicians from both sides of the divide have called for the IPCMC to be implemented to reform the police force since 2006.

The IPCMC, which was mooted by a royal commission chaired by former Chief Justice Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah but shot down by the police, was to be modelled on the United Kingdom’s Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), as well as other police oversight bodies in New South Wales and Queensland in Australia, and Hong Kong.

Speaking to The Malaysian Insider yesterday Nor Afizah Hanum said the sole investigating officer remaining at the EAIC also came from the MACC and has 11 years’ experience as an investigator.

The MACC, in contrast, has a budget of RM276 million this year and will receive an additional 150 posts annually to boost its manpower from 2,500 staff to 5,000, English daily The Star reported last September.

The EAIC, which was set up in April 2011, investigates complaints of misconduct against the police force, the Immigration Department, the Customs Department, the Rela Corps, the National Anti-Drug Agency, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, the Department of Environment, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, the National Registration Department (NRD), the Department of Civil Aviation, the Road Transport Department (RTD), the Department of Industrial Relations, the Department of Fisheries, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, the Manpower Department, the Health Ministry (Enforcement), the Tourism Ministry (Enforcement and Licensing units), the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry (Enforcement) and the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government (Enforcement).

Nor Afizah Hanum said the EAIC needed an annual budget of at least RM25 million, as well as at least 10 investigating officers and 10 research officers. “We hope to expand till 78 personnel... we have a requirement for research officers to work in a taskforce to study rules and procedures and do visits to lock-ups, prisons,” she said.

She added that the EAIC has received 469 complaints as of May 31 this year since it was formed in 2011, with 353 complaints against the police. Twenty-one complaints were lodged against the Immigration Department, 15 against the RTD, 10 against the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, and nine against the Customs Department.

She said the EAIC, however, has yet to receive complaints of deaths in custody, police shootings or assault by enforcement officers. “We haven’t received complaints of a criminal element,” said Nor Afizah Hanum.

She added that the complaints ranged from police inaction on cases, inaction of immigration authorities against illegal immigrants, a policeman having an affair with someone else’s wife, or the NRD revealing one’s personal particulars to another party without consent.

The former Sessions Court judge said investigations were opened for 124 out of 469 complaints, with one case resulting in a recommendation of disciplinary action against the police.

According to human rights group Suaram, 218 cases of alleged deaths in custody in Malaysia took place from 2000 to this month, with its records showing that nine of those cases occurred in 2012, while eight cases occurred so far this year...

The Home Ministry reportedly told Parliament last October that 298 people were shot dead by the police between 2007 and August 2012, including 151 Indonesians and 134 Malaysians, which is an average of one deadly shooting a week.

A United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention 2010 visit to Malaysian prisons and detention centres reported in 2011 that between 2003 and 2007, “over 1,500 people died while being held by authorities.”

There is no need to establish the Independent Police Misconduct and Complaints Commission (IPCMC), said Minister for Governance and Integrity Paul Low.

He said there is an existing channel called the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) that would perform the same duties as the IPCMC.

“There is no need to form the IPCMC, we already have a channel that allows the public to lodge complaints with regard to the enforcement agencies called the EAIC,” he said.

“There is lack of awareness. I believe that the only thing left to do is to educate the public on how one can lodge a complaint via the EAIC,” he added.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Deaths in Custody — We Don't Want To "De-motivate" The Police, Do We?

The statistics regarding deaths in police custody in Malaysia is a leaf out of the macabre: 156 persons died in police custody between 2000 and February 2011,¹ and it has been reported that there were at least six such deaths in 2012,² with this being the fifth one in 2013.³ This data is alarming, as it points to an average of at least one death in police custody per month since 2000.

The Malaysian Bar is dismayed and saddened by the news of yet another death in police custody, involving 32-year-old N Dharmendran. He was reportedly arrested on 11 May 2013, and died on 21 May 2013 whilst in police remand at the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters.

The death of N Dharmendran is tragic and inexcusable. It is yet another incident that raises serious questions about the treatment and safety of detainees in police custody, and the methods of interrogation used. It underscores the importance of the requirement for those in police custody to have immediate access to legal counsel upon arrest.

In the case of N Dharmendran’s arrest, the protocol prescribed under the Yayasan Bantuan Guaman Kebangsaan (“YBGK”) scheme, which is an initiative made possible by Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Abdul Razak, and supported by the Government, does not appear to have been complied with by the police. The guidelines for enforcement officers stipulate that as soon as an arrest has been made, and before the suspect is questioned, the police officer must inform the suspect’s family (or friend) of the arrest, and must also provide details of the suspect and the arrest to YBGK, who will then despatch a lawyer to offer legal representation to the arrested person.

However, we understand that YBGK did not receive any notification from the police about N Dharmendran’s arrest. We regret to note that this is the second occasion that we are aware of where YBGK was not notified of an arrest, and the detainee later died in police custody. In the first incident, 32-year-old K Nagarajan had been found dead on 24 Dec 2012 in the Dang Wangi police station lockup.

The present state of affairs has led to much public outrage and an erosion of confidence in the police. The police must be proactive in ensuring that the wrongful actions of some amongst them do not tarnish the standing of the whole force. Unless this is addressed, the police force will unfortunately remain a diminished institution in the eyes of the public.

The unabated deaths in police custody reinforce the Malaysian Bar’s repeated calls for the Government to implement the recommendation of the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police, in its report published in May 2005, for the setting up of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (“IPCMC”) to function as an independent and external oversight body to investigate complaints about police personnel.

It is untenable for the Government to continue to ignore the dire need for the IPCMC, in the face of continuing cases of deaths in police custody.

There is no need to establish the Independent Police Misconduct and Complaints Commission (IPCMC), said Minister for Governance and Integrity Paul Low. He said there is an existing channel called the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) that would perform the same duties as the IPCMC.

“There is no need to form the IPCMC, we already have a channel that allows the public to lodge complaints with regard to the enforcement agencies called the EAIC,” he said. “There is lack of awareness. I believe that the only thing left to do is to educate the public on how one can lodge a complaint via the EAIC,” he added.

Meanwhile, Low also said he had brought up N Dhamendran’s case at the Cabinet meeting held yesterday. Dhamendran, 32, died in police custody on May 21. The post-mortem reported concluded that he had died of blunt force trauma and the case has been classified as murder.

The police headquarters in Bukit Aman has since established the case as murder and had set up an independent task force to investigate the issue. “We as the government, need to act on this issue urgently. I brought it up at the Cabinet meeting yesterday and the outcome was positive,” Low told a press conference.

He said Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has agreed to cooperate and work with the relevant people. “The minister has also promised to urge the police to hasten their investigations in Dhamendran’s case,” he added. Also present at the press conference was Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) director D Ravindran, whom Dhamendran’s family accused of harassing them.

Ravindran explained that there were no conversations hinting towards a settlement nor asking the family to disengage their lawyers.

Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has welcomed suggestions to suspend policemen who were involved in allegedly murdering a detainee but does not want the morale of the police force dampened.

“That’s true but we will have to re-look at regulations so that it doesn’t de-motivate the policemen. We will have to study the entire police interrogation procedure,” he said at a press conference held at the Prisons Department headquarters here this morning.

He said this in response to criticism by two Indian leaders against the police’s decision to suspend their personnel who was involved in the alleged murder of detainee N Dharmendran.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Are You Ready For BN?

Monday, October 26, 2009

Ghosts Of Murders Past

Asia Sentinel, 26 October 2009.

Getting Away with Murder in Malaysia

It's best to be connected to the ruling national coalition

On July 16, according to the testimony of a Thai pathologist, Teoh Beng Hock, a 29-year-old aide to an opposition politician, was probably beaten during a marathon questioning session, sodomized, strangled unconscious, dragged to a window of the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission in Kuala Lumpur and thrown to his death.

The country's law enforcement establishment maintains that Teoh committed suicide by leaping from the MACC building after the inquiry was concluded into irregularities in his boss's accounts. But it is far from the first "suicide" in custody and what happened to Teoh happens all too frequently when the luckless collide with the powerful in Malaysia. His real killers are unlikely ever to be identified. As many as 350 people have died in custody since 1990. The privileged are rarely brought to trial.

The most infamous recent case before Teoh's is that of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a 28 year-old Mongolian translator who was murdered in 2006 by two bodyguards of then-Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. Altantuya had been jilted by Najib's best friend, Abdul Razak Baginda, and was demanding money from him.

Although numerous witnesses and evidence connected Najib to the affair, he was never questioned or put on the witness stand, nor was his chief of staff, Musa Safri, who Baginda said in a cautioned statement he approached about getting Altantuya from ceasing her harrassment. His two bodyguards were convicted of the murder although one, in his confession, said the two men were to be paid RM100,000 to kill her. The court never asked who would pay the money. The confession wasn't allowed in court. Baginda was acquitted without having to put on a defense and promptly left the country and Najib was eventually named Prime Minister.

Such questionable cases go back to at least the early 1980s when Sultan Mahmud Iskandar of Johor was dubbed the "killer king" by the British tabloids after he shot a trespasser to death on his property. He also reportedly assaulted and killed a golf caddy who was said to have laughed when the sultan missed a golf stroke and he maimed the caddy's brother. He later was alleged to have assaulted and injured a hockey coach, kicking off a constitutional crisis that led to former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's removal of legal immunity from prosecution for all of Malaysia's nine sultans, although Iskandar was never either arrested or jailed.

There are plenty more. In 1988 an attractive young woman named Mustakizah Jaafar, who owned a video rental business in Malacca, was found hacked to death by unknown assailants. Mustakizah reportedly was pregnant at the time of her death. She was believed to be having an affair with Megat Junid Megat Ayob, the onetime UMNO deputy home affairs minister, who died in January 2008 of cancer.

No one was ever charged with Mutakizah's murder. The widespread gossip about Megat Junid's connection with Mustakizah didn't do his political career any harm. He was ultimately named Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister in 1997 although he lost his parliamentary seat two years later and retired from politics.

In 2002 the decomposed body of Haslezah Ishak, the attractive young second wife of Raja Jaafar Raja Muda Musa, second in line to the throne of Perak, whom he had met in a karaoke lounge, was found under a bridge, clad in a bra and jeans. Four men, including a palace aide, a bomoh or witch doctor, a fisherman and a carpenter were arrested and jailed for the murder. No one was ever arrested or questioned for hiring them to kill her although suspicion fell on the prince's wife, Rajah Mahani, who had been publicly consulting witch doctors over her suspicion that Haslezah had put a spell on her husband.

In 2003, another attractive young woman, Norita Shamsudin, was found murdered in an apartment in a Kuala Lumpur suburb. A night club guest relations officer, Norita had been rumored to be having an affair with Shahidan Kassim, then chief minister of the state of Perlis. Although another individual was arrested and charged with the murder, he was later declared not guilty and no one else was ever charged. According to local news reports, the inspector general of police, Mohd Bakri Omar, classified the case under Malaysia's Official Secrets Act and no details were ever released.

Earlier this year, authorities finally completed an inquest into the 2007 death of beautiful ethnic Indian actress Sujatha Krishnan, who also worked part-time as a secretary to S.Vell Paari, chief executive officer of Maika Holdings and the son of S. Samy Vellu, the head of the Malaysian Indian Congress, a component of the ruling national coalition. Sujatha died in a hospital in a Kuala Lumpur suburb of Klang three days after she had been rushed in for treatment. Her body was cremated almost immediately after her death. The coroner ruled she had died after poisoning herself by drinking poison. The family vainly requested an investigation into her death.

For those at the bottom end of Malaysia's power spectrum, life can be considerably tougher if suspicion falls on them. According to the reform organization Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (MADPET), a distressing number of suspects have died in custody. "Relying merely on data provided by the government, it has been disclosed that there have been 150 deaths from 1990 until 2004 (10.7 per year), 108 deaths between 2000 and 2006 (18 per year), and, 85 deaths between 2003 and 2007 (21.25 per year)," the organization said.

According to a 2003 report by the Asian Human Rights Commission – the same year Norita was killed ‑ statistics released in Malaysia's parliament in October of that year by the Home Ministry, showed 23 people died in police custody between 2002 and July 2003. Of those, 16 died in 2002 although according to the report, other figures indicated that 18 had died in custody in the first nine months of 2002 alone. Parliament was told in October 2002 that a total of 34 persons had died in police custody since 2000 ‑ six in 2000, 10 in 2001 and 18 from January to September 2002.

According to the report, then-Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung denied that methods of torture used to obtain information from suspects led to their deaths. He claimed that the majority of deaths were the result of attempts to escape from police custody. Typical seemed to be the case of Hasrizal Hamzah, who had been detained on suspicion of murder in October of 2003. According to a senior assistant police commissioner, Harizal confessed to the murder and then, as he was being moved to a new location, supposedly shoved the accompanying policeman aside despite being handcuffed, and leapt over a balcony to his death.

Earlier this year, the Indian community was enraged by the death of a 22-year-old named Kugan Ananthan who was detained on Jan. 15 on suspicion of stealing luxury cars. He reportedly collapsed during questioning and died on Jan. 20 from "acute pulmonary edema," or fluid in the lungs. However, after his body was released to his family, an autopsy found that he had suffered from internal bleeding in his heart, left lung, spleen, kidneys and scalp area. The soles of his feet had been beaten and the back of his neck and spine area were bleeding. His back was covered with contusions, beating marks and bruises. He had sustained more than 10 serious burn marks, probably as the result of being burned by a heated v-shaped iron bar. He had also been starved during the entire time he was being tortured, allegedly by as many as seven police officers, his family charged.

"There is a clear lack of supervision, medical care and concern for the general well-being and rights of suspects while under police remand," the Human Rights Commission said in its 2003 report. It does not appear that anything has changed. The odds are that the cases involving both Kugan and Teoh will end up the same way scores of others have.

Link to Dr. Porntip's Letter: http://www.agc.gov.my/agc/pdf/inkues/Stmedia_261009.pdf

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Followers Of Jesus Christ: Speak Up Against Injustice

Angry in Malaysia

Tuesday, 21 July 2009 07:50AM

©My Sinchew

"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." (James 1:19-21 TNIV)

If you are a follower of Jesus in Malaysia, you are probably angry. Consider the following:-

1. Two Muslim journalists infiltrate a Catholic church incognito. They had heard that a number of Muslims had been converted to Christianity through this church. They found no evidence of such conversions. During mass they come forward to take the communion wafer. They did not swallow and held the wafer in their mouths till they had left the church building. They then spat out the wafer and took pictures. They then published an article about their "adventure" together with pictures of the spat-out communion wafer. To date there is no reprimand from any official government body. Police reports have been made.

I come from a free church tradition. I believe the communion bread remains bread though I believe the Spirit of Christ is at the Lord's Supper. This is beside the point. Malaysia is a multi-racial, multi-religious country where the constitution protects the dignity of all religions. The silence from the government is deafening. Imagine if some Christian journalists had thrown the Koran on the floor, taken pictures, and published the story. Of course we should forgive our enemies. But there are other issues involved, including holding the government responsible to its call to protect the dignity of all religions.

2. In recent times the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) has been aggressively investigating public servants from opposition parties. (Of course whether a party is considered an opposition party depends on your perspective. In truth the "opposition" parties form the duly elected governments in a number of states.) Christians should be at the forefront of any fight against corruption. But when politicians from the governing party are rarely investigated while so many politicians from "opposition" parties are investigated, something is seriously wrong.

The glaring double standard gives lie to the fact that the Anti Corruption Commission is a non-partisan body committed to eradicating corruption wherever it is found. It seems that the Commission is but a political tool of the ruling party.

3. And now we learn that a political aide, who was interrogated by the Commission, has fallen to his death from the 14th floor of the Anti Corruption Headquarters. He had been taken to the MACC office at 6pm on Wednesday (July 15th) to assist in the Commission's investigation into the alleged abuse of constituency development funds by several state assemblymen. Did he jump? Was he pushed? We do not know. What we know is this. He was interrogated till 3.45am in the morning. In the words of Goh Keat Peng: Why was a witness being held for questioning for ten hours and only released at 3.45am? What kind of case is it and what is the urgency of the case in question that the witness had to be deprived of sleep and forcibly kept awake till 3.45am? Was the nation deemed to be in grave danger had the witness in question been sent home at a respectable time and asked to report again for questioning the next morning?

The nation could endure long years of waiting over so many other much longer pending cases involving so much more public money and have much greater weight in public interest but this particular case could not wait for the next morning when the witness in question would have been fresher and better rested? Like I said, if you are a follower of Jesus in Malaysia you should be angry. I am. Which is why I remember James 1:19-21. I know righteous anger can quickly become unrighteous.

I know that when I get angry my discernment is compromised. I am more vulnerable to manipulation. I become rash and speak and act prematurely. When I am angry, I need to bear in mind at least two things:

1. Unrighteous anger will not accomplish God's purposes. If our concern is to be agents of God's work, unrighteous anger is out.

2. When we are consumed by anger we only see the evil "out there." We stop working at the evil inside us. We forget the ongoing call to "get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent" in our own lives. However, fear of unrighteous anger should not paralyse us from doing what is right. Followers of Jesus are called to speak up against injustice. "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." (Proverbs 31:8-9 TNIV)".

And as John the Baptist discovered, "speaking truth to power" may demand the highest price (Matthew 14:1-12). There is a time to speak up. There is a time to act. There is a time for righteous anger. But we must guard our hearts and ensure that all we say and do flow out of the twin loves for God and neighbour (Mark 12:28-31). Whatever righteous anger may look like, it must come from a heart that has such a deep passion for God that we are deeply pained that His ways are violated. It must come from a heart with such a deep compassion for human beings (of whatever race or religious background) that we are roused when human life is violated. And it must come from a heart that is always suspicious of its own righteousness.

By Soo-Inn Tan

(This article is used with permission from GRACE@WORK).

See Council of Churches of Malaysia Youth's press statement: Death by detention

Friday, July 17, 2009

Ean Yong’s Political Secretary Dead At MACC HQ

By Neville Spykerman

SHAH ALAM, July 16 – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) controversial probe into several DAP assemblymen’s activities was thrown into more turmoil today with the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock at the anti-graft authority’s Selangor headquarters.

The 30-year-old’s death will put more pressure on the MACC, which has been accused by the opposition of conducting selective investigations.

By 9pm tonight, a crowd had gathered at the scene for a candlelight vigil in his memory, which soon grew into a protest with angry chants of “Najib pembunuh, BN zalim, BN jahanam” (murderer Najib, cruel BN, go to hell, BN)and “Reformasi!”

Teoh, the political secretary of Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah, was taken in for questioning by the MACC yesterday at its 14th floor office in Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam.

MACC said he was freed but his body was later found sprawled on the roof of a five-storey building next door.

It is unclear if Teoh, a former journalist with Chinese daily Sin Chew Jit Poh, fell or jumped from the MACC office.

DAP’s Ronnie Liu said he could not understand how this could have happened.

Forensic investigators examine the body of Teoh Boon Hock for clues. Teoh was found dead next to the MACC’s office today, after being taken in for questioning yesterday.

At a press conference, the MACC director of investigations Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdul said Teoh was questioned from 5pm yesterday to 3.45am and was released soon after.

However, Teoh apparently said he was tired and so he rested on a settee in the lobby. He was seen sleeping on the settee at 6am.

At about 1.30pm, Shukri said, they heard that a body had been found on the 5th floor of the adjacent building and when one of the MACC officers went to investigate, he realised it was one of their witnesses.

Shukri said Teoh was not a suspect but was questioned as part of their investigations into the misuse of state allocations.

Police have not allowed anyone to view Teoh’s body, which has still not been removed at 6.30pm, when his brother was at the scene. According to witnesses at the scene, the body was finally removed about 9.20pm.

In an immediate reaction, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang expressed shock and asked in his twitter account, “Is there now the first case of death in custody, not police but MACC? If so, heads must roll!”

The DAP leader is in Penang and said he was waiting for a full report about the tragedy.

“What has this country come to?” he asked, adding later he and other Pakatan Rakyat leaders will meet the MACC on Friday for an explanation.

According to Kit Siang, Teoh, an Alor Gajah boy, was to register his marriage tomorrow.

Kit Siang also confirmed he and Anwar will meet reporters at the MACC building in Shah Alam at 10am Friday.

Teoh was taken in for questioning yesterday after MACC officers raided Ean Yong’s office in the State Secretariat as they were investigating complaints about the failure of state allocations to reach the people.

Selangor State Assembly Speaker Teng Chang Khim weighed in by saying the MACC is responsible for the incident.

His lawyer M Manoharan, who accompanied Teoh to the MACC office yesterday, said he had looked normal and showed no signs of being under stress.

“He was happy and looked composed. I had advised him how to handle the interrogation as I was not allowed in during questioning,” he said.

Manoharan, who is the Kota Alam Shah assemblyperson, last saw Teoh at around 7pm yesterday.

The brother and sister of the late Teoh are consoled by Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo (R), after they arrive at the MACC office.

Ean Yong said it was highly unlikely Teoh took his own life since he was due to be married tomorrow.

"Furthermore, there was no reason for him to linger (after the interrogation) because his car was here," he added.

Selangor executive councillor Elizabeth Wong expressed shock over Teoh’s death and added to the chorus that MACC was responsible for it.

“This tragic incident is another reminder of the recklessness of supposedly public institutions like the MACC in pursuing the goals of their political masters,” she said in a statement.

Wong said MACC investigations director Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdul’s explanation flew in the face of logic, adding that the authority should operate within acceptable guidelines when conducting interrogations.

“Even the police stops interrogating suspects at 6pm. Did the MACC think it holds powers greater than the PDRM when it interrogated Teoh from 5pm to 4am the next day?” she asked.

She said the incident has prompted her not to allow her staff to be questioned by the MACC unless accompanied by legal counsel, adding the police should also seal the office for investigations.

“Datuk Mohd Shukri … should save whatever honour he and the MACC have left by resigning,” said the Bukit Lanjan assemblywoman.

In a statement, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the MACC must bear full responsibility for this death as Teoh was in their custody at the time.

“MACC should stop its political persecution of PR, especially DAP leaders and members, that does not serve the interest of fighting corruption or justice,” he said. “Such political games have caused the loss of life of a bright young idealistic DAP member.”

“There must be a full investigation on how he died. Unless MACC can clear its name, the public may suspect that Teoh was mistreated and MACC had a hand in his sudden death. There must be full transparency and accountability.

A man lights a candle during a vigil for the late Teoh Beng Hock. – Picture by Jack Ooi

“DAP extends its condolences to Teoh’s family for this tragic loss and assures them that all steps will be taken to ensure that the culprits or those responsible be punished.”

Sekinchan assemblyman Ng Swee Lim, who was weeping openly at the press conference, said he had wanted to take Teoh for seafood yesterday.

Meanwhile, PKR vice president K. Sivarasa calls this a “death in suspicious circumstances.”

PKR assemblyman Xavier Jeyakumar is questioning why a normal young man would want to kill himself over being questioned about state allocations.

A vigil organised for Teoh outside the MACC office was held at 8.30pm tonight. A group of youth unveiled a banner saying: "MACC we want answers and the truth".

By 9.20pm, the scene was beginning to evoke memories of Reformasi protests as at least 200 people had gathered.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Excuse me, are you a doctor?

Hospital: Mob tampered with Kugan's body

NST Online 5 March 2009 By : Farrah Naz Karim farrah

PUTRAJAYA: Serdang Hospital yesterday fought back against accusations of a misleading post-mortem on police detainee A. Kugan.

Its director, Dr Mohd Norzi Ghazali, said a mob of about 50 people had barged in and tampered with the body before any post-mortem was carried out by the hospital's forensics pathologist.

Dr Norzi said his medical officers sought cover for two hours in a connecting room of the mortuary as they feared being hurt by the mob.

The post-mortem, he said, was supposed to take place at 8am the next day as police personnel had to be present during the procedure.

A report on the incident at the morgue by the hospital authorities stated that Kugan's fully-clothed body was in a body bag, which had been torn open by the mob. The medical officers also reported they were shocked to see a pool of Kugan's blood on the floor of the mortuary.

This, the report said, indicated that wounds on the body could have been inflicted after his death.

The report also stated that the 22-year-old had died of pulmonary oedema or fluid in the lungs. It also stated that there were no fractures on his body or damage to his vital organs.

However, Kugan's family lawyer, N. Surendran, said the second post-mortem conducted by University Malaya Medical Centre's pathologist Dr Prashant N. Samberkar revealed that his death was due to kidney failure caused by muscle injury that might be attributed to physical, chemical or biological factors.

Dr Norzi told the New Straits Times that both post-mortems were "weak evidence" in the case as they had been conducted after the body had been tampered with.

On claims that Kugan, a suspected car thief, had been starved for six days before he died, Dr Norzi said a person's stomach would be cleared of traces of food about four hours after his last meal.

Attorney-General Chambers' prosecution division head Tun Majid Tun Hamzah received the second post-mortem report from Surendran yesterday.

Tun Majid said comparisons would be made between the reports for a just decision. "This won't be long, hopefully within this month. The chambers will inform the public of its decision."

Kugan died at the Subang Taipan police station while being interrogated on Jan 20, six days after he was arrested in connection with car thefts.

Kapar member of parliament S. Manikavasagam, who accompanied Surendran to the chambers, said a police report would be lodged against the Serdang pathologist either tomorrow or Saturday "over a false and misleading post-mortem".

In Kuala Lumpur, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said police would wait for the A-G's decision before taking action against the 11 policemen involved in Kugan's death.

Terrible images of Kugan

Friday, 06 March 2009 06:56AM © Malay Mail

by Haris Hussain & Nevash Nair

ALMOST two months after A. Kugan died in the Subang Taipan police lock-up, his mother, N. Indra, still cries herself to sleep every night. Now, sleep is even more elusive after she came to know about the pain and suffering he endured before he died, five days after he was arrested on Jan 15 in connection with police investigations into a series of luxury car thefts. Every time she closes her eyes, she sees her son’s bruised, battered and burnt body.

In an interview with Malay Mail, Indra said she is still unable to accept the fact that her son is gone, so much so her husband, R. Ananthan, refused to show her the second post-mortem report prepared y the independent pathologist hired by the family. The report was released on Monday. Ananthan relented only after Indra insisted. What she saw shocked her. “I have never laid a finger on my son but these heartless policemen beat him to death. Only a mother knows how I feel. The pain is so unbearable that I wish I were dead,” she alleged of the case that the Attorney-General has reclassified as murder.

My life has changed forever. He is my first-born. The manner in which I lost him makes it even more difficult for me to deal with. I did not carry him for nine months in my womb just so that someone can torture him this way. “There were signs that he was starving before he died. He was never hungry when he was with me. I would cook him his favourite dish, fried chicken and nuggets, whenever he was hungry.” Indra said her three other children miss Kugan too but that the one hardest hit is her husband. “As a father, he always thought that Kugan would be around to provide for the family if anything were to happen to him. He loved Kugan more than anything in this world. Now, he worries

about who will take care of the family if he dies.”

The one million ringgit question: Why would anyone starve, brand and beat up the corpse of a close relative?

Monday, February 2, 2009

Kematian Kugan: Suatu Tragedi Yang Menuntut Suatu Revolusi

www.loyarburok.com

Penulis: Amer Hamzah · Khamis, January 29th, 2009

Insiden kematian dalam tahanan (death in custody) bukanlah merupakan satu fenomena baru. Terkini,

masyarakat Malaysia dikejutkan sekali lagi dengan kematian seorang tahanan, Kugan Ananthan, semasa beliau

berada di dalam tahanan pihak polis. Terdahulu, terdapat beberapa insiden kematian dalam tahanan yang telah

dilaporkan di dalam media seperti kematian Francis Udayappan, Prakesh Moses dan Ulaganathan. Walaupun isu

ini telah acapkali dibangkitkan dan dibincangkan, namun fenomena ini masih tetap wujud. Persoalan yang timbul

kini adalah mengapakah perkara ini masih berulang?

Di dalam kita mengupas dan mengulas isu ini harus ditekankan pada luarannya bahawa kematian Kugan tidak

harus dijadikan suatu isu perkauman, walaupun ada sesetengah pihak yang mengambil kesempatan untuk

menjadikannya sebagai satu isu perkauman. Isu kematian Kugan dan juga mereka yang terdahulu darinya, adalah

suatu isu pencabulan hak asasi manusia yang harus diambil berat oleh semua lapisan masyarakat tidak kira apa

jua bangsa dan agama mereka dan tidak harus menjadi tanggungjawab sesuatu kaum sahaja.

Jika kita lihat pada statistik yang saya perolehi dari Suaram, jumlah kematian dalam tahanan polis yang telah

diketahui adalah seperti berikut:-

i) Tahun 2005 - 5 orang Melayu dan 6 orang India.

ii) Tahun 2006 - 5 orang Melayu, 3 orang India dan 2 orang Cina.

iii) Tahun 2007- 4 orang Melayu, 2 orang India dan 4 orang Cina.

iv) Tahun 2008 - 2 orang Melayu, I orang India dan 4 orang Cina.

Menurut statistik yang dikemukakan oleh Kementerian Dalam Negeri pada 8 Julai 2008 kepada Parlimen pula, dari

tempoh 2003 hingga 2007 terdapat 1531 kes kematian dalam tahanan dan daripada jumlah tersebut terdapat 85

kes kematian dalam tahanan polis.

Daripada maklumat-maklumat terhad seperti di atas, adalah jelas dan nyata bahawa isu kematian di dalam

tahanan bukanlah hanya tertumpu kepada sesuatu kaum sahaja. Seperkara lagi yang dapat diperhatikan ialah,

mangsa-mangsa kematian dalam tahanan polis adalah dari golongan bawahan ataupun golongan pekerja dan

bukannya dari golongan atasan ataupun golongan kapitalis.

Dari segi norma-norma hak asasi, apabila seseorang ditahan mengikut lunas undang-undang, adalah menjadi

kewajipan pihak berkuasa untuk memastikan sahsiah dan kebajikan tahanan dijaga dan tidak dicabuli. Hakikat

bahawa mereka ditahan bagi tujuan siasatan, tidak bermaksud bahawa pihak berkuasa mempunyai hak mutlak ke

atas tahanan-tahanan bagi membolehkan mereka diperlakukan sesuka hati tanpa peri-kemanusianan. Setiap

tahanan harus dilayan dengan sebaik mungkin dan mereka tidak boleh dikenakan sebarang bentuk penyiksaan

atau penganiayaan dari segi fizikal mahupun mental. Yang utama sekali adalah bahawa prinsip ini seharusnya

terpakai kepada setiap tahanan tidak kira samada mereka dari kelas bawahan/pekerja ataupun kelas

atasan/kapitalis. Tetapi sejarah telah membuktikan bahawa terdapat perbezaan di antara layanan terhadap

golongan atasan/kapitalis dan golongan bawahan/pekerja. Saya percaya Abdul Razak Baginda tidak menerima

layanan sepertimana yang diterima oleh Kugan semasa Abdul Razak Baginda berada dalam tahanan polis. © LoyarBurok · URL of this document: http://www.loyarburok.com/the-system/kematian-kugan-suatu-tragedi-yang-menuntut-suatu-revolusi/ · Document created: February 1st, 2009, 9:56 pm.

Sekiranya, kita masih ingat lagi tidak lama dahulu kerajaan telah menubuhkan Suruhanjaya DiRaja Pembaikan

Perjalanan dan Pengurusan Polis DiRaja Malaysian (Suruhanjaya Polis). Banyak isu dan aduan telah

dikemukakan dan salah satu aduan yang dikemukakan adalah berhubung dengan isu kematian dalam tahanan.

Walaupun Suruhanjaya Polis telah membuat laporan berhubung dengan isu ini dan telah mengusulkan beberapa

cadangan, namun seperti kelazimannya, cadangan-cadangan yang dikemukakan tersebut hanya menjadi

cadangan dan retorik sahaja. Selain dari Suruhanjaya Polis, institusi-institusi lain dan juga organisasi-organisasi

bukan kerajaan seperti Majlis Peguam, SUHAKAM dan Suaram juga telah memberi cadangan dan kritikan

membina. Namun kesemuanya umpama tindakan mencurah air ke daun keladi.

Berapa ramai nyawa yang harus dikorbankan sebelum satu langkah konkrit dan drastik diambil oleh pihak yang

berkewajipan? Adakah kerana mereka yang menjadi mangsa hanya merupakan golongan rakyat biasa yang tidak

mempunyai kedudukan dan darjat dari kacamata kerajaan, maka nasib mereka dan ahli-ahli keluarga mereka tidak

diendahkan dan diperkotak-katikkan? Perlukah anak seorang Menteri ataupun kerabat diRaja mati dalam tahanan

sebelum perubahan akan dilakukan?

Apa yang perlu dilakukan adalah suatu revolusi - revolusi dari segi penstrukturan masyarakat, minda dan juga

pentadbiran negara.

Dari konteks penstrukturan masyarakat, memandangkan majoriti rakyat mendokong fahaman kapitalisma, maka

sebarang isu yang tidak menjejaskan ekonomi ataupun peluang untuk memperkayakan diri tidak dianggap sebagai

suatu perkara yang serius dan utama. Secara khususnya, golongan atasan dan kapitalis tidak memandang serius

isu kematian dalam tahanan kerana kebanyakan mereka berpendapat bahawa harta-benda dan kapital mereka

tidak akan terjejas. Tambahan pula, golongan atasan dan kapitalis sentiasa beranggapan bahawa mereka berada

di atas undang-undang ataupun sistem undang-undang tersebut boleh dimanipulasi melalui korupsi. Oleh itu

struktur kelas yang sedia wujud harus dihapuskan kerana selagi ada sistem kelas, maka selagi itu akan adanya

korupsi dan proses memanipulasikan sistem undang-undang oleh pihak atasan dan kapital. Akhirnya yang

menjadi mangsa adalah rakyat jelata - golongan pekerja.

Revolusi minda juga adalah perlu, di mana kita tidak harus membiarkan isu perkauman atau agama menjadi batu

penghalang kepada sesuatu isi pencabulan hak asasi. Acapkali isu-isu pencabulan hak asasi disadurkan dan

dikaburi dengan isu perkauman dan agama. Contoh yang nyata sekali ialah isu kemanusiaan di Gaza di mana

pihak-pihak tertentu dengan segera menjadikannya suatu isu agama. Begitu juga dengan isu kematian Kugan.

Kita harus peka dan tidak harus cepat melatah dan melaungkannya sebagai isu perkauman. Kematian Kugan

adalah suatu tragedi yang harus ditangisi oleh semua lapisan masyarakat kerana beliau adalah warganegara

Malaysia dan kematiannya adalah simbol kegagalan sistem yang sedia ada dan juga kerakusan pihak berkuasa ke

atas rakyat jelata.

Yang paling mustahak sekali adalah revolusi dari segi pentadbiran negara. Hakikat bahawa terdapatnya insideninsiden

kematian dalan tahanan jelas menunjukkan satu corak kepincangan dan kegagalan dari segi prosedur dan

dasar di dalam pentadbiran dan pengawal-seliaan oleh pihak berkuasa. Ianya menghendaki suatu perubahan dan

sebarang bentuk perubahan positif memerlukan daya politik (political will). Keengganan pihak pemerintah untuk

menjanakan perubahan positif demi kebaikan rakyat memerlukan suatu tindakan drastik dari rakyat. Sepertimana

yang telah dinyatakan tadi, cadangan-cadangan telahpun dibuat namun tiada tindakan yang diambil. Dalam situasi

tiada daya politik untuk melaksanakan perubahan oleh pihak yang berkuasa, maka rakyatlah yang harus

menggerakkan perubahan tersebut melalui satu revolusi, sebagai contohnya rakyat telah berjaya untuk mendesak

supaya post-mortem kedua dijalankan ke atas Kugan. Sedikit sebanyak ianya telah menghantar suatu mesej yang

jelas kepada kerajaan bahawa rakyat tidak mahu lagi ditindas.

Adalah memalukan bagi sebuah negara berdaulat, seperti Malaysia, sekiranya isu ini tidak dapat ditangani.

Pepatah ada mengatakan bahawa tahap ketamadunan sesuatu negara boleh diukur melalui cara tahanan di

dalam negara tersebut dilayan. Oleh yang demikian, sekiranya kita mengambil statistik yang sedia ada dan

dengan perkembangan terkini, apakah nilai ketamadunan kita dan kemanakah hala tuju kita? Sama-samalah kita

fikirkan dan bertindak bagi menggerakkan perubahan yang positif. Kuasa bukanlah terletak di tangan pemerintah,

tetapi di tangan rakyat. Marilah kita sama-sama tunjukkan kekuatan rakyat - rakyat berani, petualang akan lari.

Salam revolusi.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 29th, 2009 at 1:00 pm and is filed under Bolehland, The System