Police still top list of complaints lodged with Suhakam
(The Star) – The police have once again topped the list of complaints lodged at Suhakam against law enforcement agencies for violations of human rights.
According to Suhakam’s 2012 annual report, of the 202 complaints made against the Police, Prisons, National Registration and Immigration departments, cops clocked in a total of 126 for inaction (44), abuse of power (43), and use of excessive force (39).
It was similar to the preceding two years: 113 out of 156 in 2011 and 125 out of 212 in 2010.
The report said the complaints against cops related to assault of arrested persons during interrogation to compel them to confess.
Other complaints included allegations of unlawful arrest, that is re-arresting those who had been freed; extending remand by producing the arrested person in magistrate’s courts in several districts; intimidating complainants to withdraw reports against the police; and bias.
Asked why cops topped the list consistently and whether there was greater pressure to perform, Suhakam commissioner James Nayagam said the police dealt with the public more and that there “might be more pressure on them because of public expectation to solve crimes.”
The annual report also shows that complaints about Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance (EO) 1969, Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act (DDA) 1985 and Internal Security Act (ISA) 1960 had dropped last year.
There were only 10 last year (EO-five, DDA-three, ISA-two) compared with 54 in 2011 (EO-44, DDA-six, ISA-four) and 82 in 2010 (EO-69, DDA-11, ISA-two).
The EO was revoked in 2011 and the ISA repealed in 2012.
Asked whether the fewer complaints could be because some detainees were released after the laws were annulled, Nayagam said that could well be the case.
After the report was released on Tuesday, vice-chairman Datuk Dr Khaw Lake Tee reiterated Suhakam’s recommendations to fit every interrogation room with a CCTV, a doctor to examine the suspect before and after interrogation, and for every report against an officer to be investigated by Bukit Aman or the state police headquarters.
