Cock-up, cover-up and conspiracy
Are homicidal maniacs on the loose masquerading as policemen? Until there’s political will by all BN MPs to form the IPCMC, deaths in custody will continue to be part of police SOP
Mariam Mokhtar, FMT
Do you remember N Dhamendran, the 32-year-old man who died on May 21, whilst in police custody, at the Tun HS Lee lockup, in Kuala Lumpur? His case is mired in controversy, just like all the other deaths in police custody.
First, the cock-up, involving alleged brutality and torture. Then, comes the cover-up, to disguise what actually happened. When the victims’ families probe deeper and demand answers, denials swiftly follow and scapegoats are eventually found.
Two months after Dhamendran’s brutal murder, the final piece in the jigsaw has been revealed. A few days ago, the identity and photo of the remaining policeman who was allegedly responsible for Dhamendran’s murder was released. This thug remains at large. Is he armed and dangerous? Was there really a fourth person involved in Dhamendran’s murder?
On May 11, Dhamendran was arrested, along with three other suspects, after he lodged a police report about a fight.
His family only knew of his arrest on May 19 and after visiting him at the police lock-up, they were told that he would be released on police-bail four days later. Instead of welcoming him home on May 22, they received a telephone call from an unidentified policeman, telling them to collect his body from the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (KLH).
May 22 was also the day when the CID chief Ku Chin Wah released a statement claiming that the detainee, after complaining of being unwell with chest pains and breathing difficulties, had succumbed to his illness. Ku said that Dhamendran was rushed to the KLH but was pronounced dead on arrival. The death was attributed to a suspected asthma attack.
It is the same old story, with the usual plot – chest pains, breathing difficulties, asthma attack, sudden death. The only difference being the players, healthy, young adults, some of whom never had asthma or any other chronic illness, appear to drop dead whilst in detention.
Horror, disgust, condemnation and outpourings of grief are often followed by denials and declarations by senior policemen that an investigation will be conducted “by an officer from Bukit Aman”.
One would have thought that with every death in police custody, lessons would have been learnt, the guilty punished, the bad policemen weeded out, violent men and violent tactics stopped, the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for questioning suspects would be reviewed and there would be an end to this type of tragedy.
Despite these assurances custodial deaths continue, with increasing savagery, as Dhamendran’s murder has shown.
Many questions remain unanswered: Why did Ku pre-empt the post-mortem results? Does he have any medical qualifications? Was Ku’s statement an ill-advised premature act, a panic induced reaction or a genuine error of judgement? Did he have something to hide?
Irreparable damage
Why did Ku jeopardise both his credibility and the already tarnished image of the police force by adding another lie to the layers of denials and lies of the PDRM? Why did he utter a lie that could so easily be denounced? Was Ku ordered to make this announcement?
On May 22, the initial findings of the KLH consultant pathologist confirmed that Dhamendran died from a “diffusion of soft tissue injuries due to multiple blunt force trauma”. There was evidence of beating and torture, with fresh wounds from whipping with a rotan, on his back. Staples had been found in his ears and legs.
