Home Minister Zahid should set-up IPCMC to Stop Deaths in Custody
N Dharmendran’s body was covered with bruises and both his ears were stapled. A pathologist confirms he died from multiple blunt force trauma. The police have now reclassified the case as murder although they initially said Dharmendran died from breathing difficulties.
Charles Santiago, Member of Parliament, Klang
It has always been one death too many. According to official statistics, there were 147 deaths in police custody last year. This shook the conscience of the country and deeply angered Malaysians. But nothing changed.
The recent death does not just add to the escalating number. The lurid details of the victim’s body is shocking as it points to a rising level of physical abuse and torture by police officers.
N Dharmendran’s body was covered with bruises and both his ears were stapled. A pathologist confirms he died from multiple blunt force trauma. The police have now reclassified the case as murder although they initially said Dharmendran died from breathing difficulties.
His lawyers have described it as the worst case of police brutality, since the death of Kugan Ananthan in 2009.
The deep wounds on Dharmendran’s body plus the staples with dried blood indicate he died from physical torture. The pathologist also found staples on both his legs on the ankle area.
Dharmendran’s death and the shocking wounds on his body clearly signal that the police have no qualms abusing their powers or indulging in torture despite the nationwide uproar. And this is more so as they are not accountable to anyone.
This has to stop.
The government must immediately set-up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission or IPCMC instead of shuffling it along.
The police continue to act with impunity as they enjoy absolute power. The inertia demonstrated by the government in implementing the Independent Commission has contributed to the rising number of deaths in the hands of the police.
As the year began, three people died under police custody. And aside from deaths in police custody, police also shoot dead several people, each month, on average. Police say they were either returning fire or the people were suspected criminals. But many are shot dead just for failing to stop at police roadblocks.
Peoples’ confidence in the police has been taking a steady dip over the past few years, largely triggered by a deep-seated suspicion of the force. Their concern holds water.
We have read about newly minted Home Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, thumping his chest and vowing to act on anyone who dares to hold peaceful rallies or question the country’s electoral system.
I now ask that he bucks up and does the right thing as the minister in charge of Home Affairs by ordering and open inquiry into Dharmendran’s death and instructing the police chief to suspend all officers who were involved in interrogating the deceased until the investigation is completed.
Reclassifying the case as murder is not enough.
We have been disappointed many times with the outcome of the police investigating themselves. But as the new government has promised transparency and accountability, I urge the police not to play Houdini by trying to make crucial evidence disappear or attempt to cover up for their fellow colleagues.
BN’s shortcomings have become a huge liability to the country and its people for decades. Let’s hope that, for once, fairness and justice will prevail.
Or Dharmendran will become just another number, adding to the rising statistics.
