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Cops stuck in bad, old ways, says Ramasamy

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Penang deputy chief minister says some police officers extract information forcibly, thus causing deaths in custody.

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Free Malaysia Today
Referring to cases of deaths in police custody, Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy said some police officers think they are ‘immune from prosecution’. (Reuters pic)

PETALING JAYA:
After two custodial deaths at the Gombak district police headquarters, a DAP leader has raised concerns over some police officers who remain stuck in their old ways when extracting information about crimes and those involved.

Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy said there are some who prefer to elicit information forcibly, thus causing deaths in custody.

“Moreover, the belief that police personnel are immune from prosecution and punishment may make some of them act in an irresponsible manner,” he said in a statement.

Yesterday, 42-year-old security guard S Sivabalan died at the Gombak district police headquarters less than an hour after being taken in for questioning at 11.45am.

His family members claim the police informed them that Sivabalan died at 12.25pm.

Sivabalan’s death comes less than a month after the same police station was embroiled in a controversy over the death of cow’s milk trader A Ganapathy while in police custody. Ganapathy died in hospital on April 18, more than a month after being taken there from the police station on March 8.

Gombak district police chief Arifai Tarawe has so far said an initial investigation showed Sivabalan suffered from heart problems and that the case has been classified as sudden death, pending a full report from the Hospital Kuala Lumpur forensics department.

Ramasamy noted that Arifai also said Sivabalan had a criminal record involving two cases, one for drugs and the other for a criminal offence.

Free Malaysia Today
P Ramasamy.

“There is no way Arifai’s statement can be verified. Since he has been very defensive of the police, it is doubtful whether he can be a reliable witness as to what really happened in Sivabalan’s death,” he said.

He further said there had been too many deaths in custody, not just at police stations but also in prisons.

“Under the present circumstances, there is no way the public can subject the police to take responsibility over their actions,” he said, adding that there are no institutionalised mechanisms in place to probe the police for misconduct.

“It is a foregone conclusion that the police cannot investigate themselves,” he added.

Over the years, many custodial death incidents have hit the headlines. Among them were Kugan Ananthan (2009), Sugumar Chelladury (2013), Karuna Nithi Palani Velu (2013), Dharmendran Narayanasamy (2013) and Balamurugan Suppiah (2017).

This has prompted social media users and activists to ask the government to put a stop to police brutality and to set up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

Stop media intimidation

Amnesty International Malaysia (AIM), meanwhile, has started seeking support from civil societies and activists to stop media intimidation over the coverage of Ganapathy’s death.

It said they condemn Arifai’s threat to sue media outlet Free Malaysia Today (FMT) over two articles it published about his transfer to Bukit Aman’s integrity unit. It said this follows an earlier police investigation into two Malaysiakini journalists for its coverage of a related story about a man’s death while in the custody of Gombak police.

It said FMT in reporting the transfer, had included background information on the public criticism Arifai received following the death of Ganapathy, who was allegedly beaten while in police custody in Gombak.

They were referring to Arifai’s threat to sue FMT for RM10 million over two articles written on Monday about his recent transfer to Bukit Aman. He is demanding an apology and the retraction of the two articles, which he claimed were libellous and tarnished his image.

The two articles are “Under-fire Gombak police chief transferred to Integrity Unit” and “Ketua polis daerah Gombak ditukarkan ke Unit Integriti Bukit Aman” which Arifai claimed constituted false reporting, and smeared his reputation and questioned his integrity.

“These threats of lawsuits and investigations by the police are an attack on media freedom and a violation of the freedom of expression guaranteed under the Federal Constitution. Victims, families and the public deserve answers and justice”, said AIM.

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