Press Statement by M Kula Segaran,
DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat in Ipoh on 7th,
March, 2015
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Police custodial deaths: Is the government
blind or incompetent or both, Datuk Paul Low?
Yesterday, Coroner Rozi Bainun in
her verdict held that police were responsible for the death of C. Sugumar
two years ago as he was under their custody and handcuffed.
She said there was unlawful omission
by the police for their failure to send C. Sugumar to hospital.
This was another shocking death
which ought not to have happened.
On January 16, the Coroner’s Court
ruled that the death of lorry driver Chandran Perumal in a police lock-up two
years ago was due to the negligence of police officers.
I have on January 17 in a statement
said:
“
I will not be surprised if any member of public says that
he/she is not shocked to hear the news that Chandran’s death was due
to police ‘s negligence because there have been past custodial deaths where the
police have been confirmed to be the culprits in causing the deaths.
However,
the shocking part was how the inhumane the police officers were towards
Chandran , resulting in his death from a heart disease after being
deprived of his medication. ”
It will be most tragic if we were to come to a day when the public are not shocked as well about
how detainees have died due to inhumane behavior of the police simply because
such cases have become a rule of the day.
Something is seriously wrong with
the Police training when professionally trained personnel who are responsible
to protect lives of people could commit such inhumane behavior.
Something is definitely wrong with
the government when it has not come up with an effective solution to stop
custodial deaths, despite increasing number of custodial deaths.
In June 2013, the minister in charge
of integrity and corruption Datuk Paul Low had assured that the government was
determined to stop all future tragedies behind bars.
“I can assure you that the
government is very concerned with the alarming statistics and something has to
be done."
“Do not think they are blind to what
is out there. It is just that the process of government needs to find a solution
to stop this,” he said.
So what has happened after Paul’s
assurance? More custodial deaths.
Is the government blind or
incompetent or both, Datuk Paul Low?
A death is not a
statistics. Custodial deaths must not
become the rule of the day.
There must be no more delay in
setting up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC)
recommended by the Tun Dzainnudian led Royal Commission of Inquiry.
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