Malfeasance in Custodial Deaths

If Malaysians are to have respect for the country's institutions, they must have respect for the men and women who staff these institutions. The minute we harbour doubts about the character and integrity of an individual leading an organisation, it only stands to reason that our view of that organisation will be down in the dumps as well. This premise holds true for the police and the Election Commission. Yesterday the standing of Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar's took a big hit. He was accused by Justice Datuk VT Singham of malfeasance in the death in police custody of A. Kugan. He was the Selangor Chief Police when there was a cover-up to hide the fact that police personnel beat the suspect to death. It is no wonder that there are calls for his resignation. We should expect nothing less than integrity, honesty and a great respect for the rule of law from any policeman. These are minimum standards. How much more should we expect from the IGP? He sets the tone for the whole force. Can we be certain that he will not turn a blind eye to criminal acts by his men as he seemed to have done those years ago? Death in police custody is a big concern, and there seems to finally be some momentum on the government's part to tackle this issue. Does Khalid have the standing to clean up the force and set an exemplary standard of behaviour? The High Court's judgment does not make for comforting reading. ~TMI

Judge in favour of IPCMC

Alyaa Azhar | June 26, 2013 A High Court judge says IPCMC will reduce custodial death and that such cases should be investigated free from police influence.

PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur High Court judge VT Singham today called for the setting-up of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) due to the sharp rise in custodial violence. He made the call while delivering his judgment on a civil suit filed against the government by the family of A Kugan who died while in police custody four years ago. Singham said recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to form the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) must be activated as soon as possible. This is to assure all concerned members of society that an independent agency is looking into the matter without any influence from police officers, he said. There is justification to protect the interests of those taken into police custody. If abuse of power and the unlawful act is not checked, people will lose faith in the enforcing machinery, he said. He added that no matter how faithfully the local police investigated cases, it would still lack credibility when it came to probing its own men. At a press conference after the verdict was delivered, Padang Serai MP N Surendran said he would raise the matter during the Kings debate speech in Parliament.

Earlier today, Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told the Parliament that the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) was set up in line with the proposal made under the RCI. He said this in response to PKR Johari Abduls question on why the government was reluctant to set up the IPCMC, a proposal which came out of the same RCI. Zahid replied by saying that the EAIC was a better solution to investigate misconduct by the police or any other enforcement agency as the IPCMC had some overlapping power with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). He added the IPCMC also runs contrary to the Extra Territorial Offences Act 1973. IPCMC was the last part in the proposal to make improvements to the police submitted by the Special Commission to Enhance The Operation And Management Of The Royal Malaysian Police chaired by former Chief Justice Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, who proposed that the body used the models of the Independent Police Complaint Commission (IPCC) of the United Kingdom and the police monitoring bodies found in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia, and Hong Kong. - See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/06/26/judge-infavour-of-independent-police-commission/#sthash.GqEAErvj.dpuf

Kugans family wins suit, awarded RM851,700

Alyaa Azhar | June 26, 2013 High Court awards RM851,700 and finds top cop liable

KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur High Court has awarded RM851,700 in damages to the family of A Kugan, who died in police custody four years ago.

Judge VT Singham today said the court found that all defendants, including current Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar were liable. He said Khalid, who was the Selangor police chief at the time of Kugans death, was in particular liable to a charge of malfeasance while in public office. Kugans mother, N Indra, filed the suit in January 2012, accusing the police of negligence and breach of statutory duty and had sought RM100 million in damages. Other than Khalid, she named former Subang Jaya district police chief ACP Zainal Rashid Abu Bakar, Constable V Navindran, the then IGP and the government as defendants. In her statement of claim, Indra had alleged that the defendants had failed to ensure the safety and welfare of Kugan while he was in police custody. The damages awarded included RM192,000 for loss of dependency, RM9,709 for funeral expenses, RM50,000 for assault and battery, RM100, 000 for false imprisonment, RM100,000 for malfeasance while in public office and exemplary damages of RM300,000. Singham said that the IGP should have clarified his earlier statement on Kugans actual cause of death. The second post-mortem revealed that the deceased had died due to acute kidney failure as opposed to water in the lungs, which was first stated by Khalid. Pathologists of the second post-mortem found 45 categories of external injuries on the body of the deceased and Singham also noted that the grievance of injuries which spoke volumes could not have been inflicted by Navindran alone. This court is unable to accept that the injuries found on the deceased body was caused only by the second defendant [Navindran]. The judge also contended that the accumulative evidence by the defendants is inconsistent and unreliable. Singham also said that the recommendation of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to form the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) must be activated as soon as possible to assure all concerned members of society that an independent agency is looking into the matter without any influence from police officers. Family needs closure Padang Serai MP N Surendran who was a witness in the case was commended for pushing for the second post-mortem and Singham opined that if it was not for him, the matter would have been swept under the carpet.

Police station should be a safe place and should not be converted into a crime scene, said Singham. He however stressed that an isolated incident should not be made to reflect negatively on the entire police force. The nature of this torturous act should not cast aspersion on the entire police force but only the officers who committed the act, he said. During a press conference held after the judgment was read, Surendran instead stressed that the case has caused aspersion on the police force. The current IGP has been found liable for covering up a heinous crime, this has caused aspersion against the entire police force. The finding shows that Kugan was murdered while in police custody by police officers. This judgment makes his [Khalid] position untenable. If he has any sense of shame, then he should resign, said Surendran. He added that the verdict is just a small consolation to Kugans family. This is because the murderers are still walking free. For closure, the culprits must be brought to justice, he said. Kugan was arrested and remanded on Jan 14, 2009 at the Puchong Jaya police lock-up before he was found dead on Jan 20, four days after being brought to the Taipan USJ Subang Jaya police station on Jan 16. Navindran was sentenced to three years jail in June 2012 after the Sessions Court found him guilty of causing hurt to Kugan. He is out on bail, pending appeal. The plaintiffs lawyers were A Sivarasa, RL Bani Prakash and Latheefa Koya while the federal counsel for the defendants were Arshad Md Arshad, Nur Aqilah Ishak, and R Ramesh Sivakumar. Anwar: Home Minister must respond In a related development, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi must respond immediately to the court ruling today. The home minister gave a clear explanation in parliament this morning (on deaths in custody). I thank him. While there is still room for appeals to be made, based on what has happened (in Kugans case), the home minister should respond immediately, he said.

- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/06/26/kugansfamily-wins-suit/#sthash.zblzxNbs.dpuf

We still need independent police commission

G Vinod and K Pragalath | June 20, 2013 Pakatan Rakyat leaders say that even the proposed coroner's court will need to be supported by an independent body to probe deaths in custody.

PETALING JAYA: The establishment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) is paramount to curb custodial deaths, said Pakatan Rakyat leaders. IPCMC is what we need to investigate errant police officers but the government is not interested, said DAP chairman Karpal Singh. Yesterday, Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced several measures to address the increasing numbers of custodial deaths, namely the setting up of the permanent coroners court. He also said that the government would build centralised police lock ups in every states with CCTV system and mull the possibility of giving the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) prosecution powers. Karpal said that while setting a coroners court is a good idea, the court would be rendered helpless if it was not supported by an independent body such as the IPCMC. In the existing system, the coroners court will have to depend on the police investigation. Its the same thing with the EAIC. What is the point in giving prosecution powers to a body with no real power. It will be another Suhakam, which is toothless tiger, said the Bukit Gelugor MP.

PKR supreme council member R Sivarasa concurred with Karpals assessment, saying the government is missing the whole point in the entire exercise. We need an independent body to probe custodial deaths. It will help any inquest procedure or the coroners court in its case, he said. Currently, Sivarara added, all investigation are done by the police, where impartiality of any probe on custodial deaths could come into question. On giving EAIC prosecution powers, the Subang MP said it was of no point that as the commission had not done anything to stop custodial deaths since its inception three years ago. If you really want to give prosecution powers, the priority should be for the MACC, said Sivarasa. Fellow PKR supreme council member Latheefa Koya said that the setting up of the coroners court and centralised lock-ups without IPCMC would not compel the police to be accountable for their actions We wish to state that the issue is not about the centralised lockups, investigation rooms or CCTVs. It is about accountability and taking actions on those who breach the lock up rules, abuse power and brutalise suspects, she said. Also read:

The reason cops shouldnt abuse suspects - Rama Ramanathan

June 19, 2013 In my last post about the police, I asked why cops shouldnt abuse almost certainly reprehensible prisoners. Some suggested I should ask how I would wish to be treated if I were the suspect. Some said theres a chance the person looks like, but is not the guilty person. Some reminded me of the axiom innocent until proven guilty. Theres truth in all those statements, but we can go deeper. Its often difficult to gather evidence or find sufficient, reliable witnesses to prove a crime. Rapists in particular benefit from this difficulty. And, many witnesses will not testify for fear of reprisals by friends of the accused.

Yet, we insist that the burden of proof must be satisfied: we insist that the police must not only apprehend criminals, they must produce evidence that the suspects did indeed commit the crimes they are accused of. We insist the police must obtain the evidence quickly, without harming suspects. We insist that the police must protect those who testify about what happened. We expect the police to be like the Lotus plant which lives, stands upright and displays its beauty even in filthy ponds we each have to excel at what we do. Yet, the police have to deal with bad folks more frequently than the rest of us. Period. Its not easy to remain different from the bad folks. And therein lies the challenge: bad folks taunt us; bad folks mock us; bad folks hurt us. The reason even a suspect is entitled to due process, entitled to be treated as innocent until proven guilty, entitled to be punished only by a duly appointed court of law, lies in civility. Being civil means treating each other politely and courteously, as fellow citizens with equal rights and responsibilities. [See here my post about the UN, Malaysia and civilization.] Civility is a response to dignity, seeing worth in people because they are people. On the 10th of December 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations passed The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration begins with the word dignity: Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, The Declaration was issued after the end of World War II, after atrocity upon atrocity had been committed upon citizens both by their own fellow-citizens and by citizens of other nations. The Declaration was one of several responses to the brutal treatment of civilians and Prisoners of War. This is the first part of Article 11: Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence. So, why shouldnt the police or anyone else for that matter abuse even almost certainly reprehensible prisoners? Its because what I do to others is a reflection of who I am. And that, I believe, is the primary reason why some of us feel so angry about the abuse of even almost certainly reprehensible prisoners.

As I write this, I have in my minds eye a short video of a number of young men who robbed a liquor store of a bottle of whisky and the contents of a cash register, threatening the cashier and a couple of others with a parang. In the previous paragraph, I said some of us because I saw comments on FB by others who basically said the police should beat/shoot them. Ive read about the brutal ways of Nazi guards in German concentration camps. Ive heard first-hand accounts of the brutalization of Prisoners of War by Japanese guards. Ive read Solzhenitsyns accounts of brutal Russian prison guards. Ive read of the failures of courts to convict war criminals. An AP report dated 2nd October 1946 says: Shortly after their acquittal, Schacht [Economics Minister], Von Papen [Diplomat] and Fritzsche [Deputy Propaganda Minister] strolled smilingly out of the jail and held a turbulent news conference at which Schacht was as cocky and belligerent as ever. The financier of Hitler's war machine said that there used to be "laws and free opinion in Germany," but "there appeared to be neither laws nor free opinion now." Ive read of prison guards at concentration camps killed without being tried, for example: "The "American Army Investigation of Alleged Mistreatment of German Guards at Dachau" found that about 15 Germans were killed (with another 4 or 5 wounded) after their surrender had been accepted. Two other reports collated years after the incident put the figure between 122 and 520 Germans killed after their surrender had been accepted. As a result of the American Army investigation court-martial, charges were drawn up against Sparks and several other men under his command but, as General George S. Patton (the then recently appointed military governor of Bavaria) chose to dismiss the charges, the witnesses to the killings were never cross-examined in court and no one was found guilty. Many guards were also killed by the liberated prisoners, which made the issue more complex. Lee Miller visited the camp just after liberation, and photographed several guards who died at the prisoners' hands." Yet I do not agree with those who say the police should be free to abuse (and kill) reprehensible and certainly guilty prisoners. I disagree not merely because the suspect should be treated like I would wish to be treated if I were the suspect or the suspect looks like, but is not the guilty person. I think even reprehensible and certainly guilty prisoners should not be abused because abuse demonstrates failure to recognize dignity and practice civility. Abusers refuse to comply with the limits a civilized society sets to authority: its the role of cops to investigate, apprehend suspects, gather evidence, protect victims and witnesses; its the role of judges to weigh evidence and mete out punishment. Its the role of the public to be vigilant and respond if boundaries are crossed.

I have a word to describe people who encourage cops to behave like those whom our laws and enforcers are supposed to apprehend and punish: reprehensible. Let's not give up expecting cops to excel. Let's be clear whos a good cop and whos a bad cop. Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Will the Police Revolt Again Against IPCMC?

In May 2006, the Royal Malaysian Police threatened a revolt of the force should the then Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi administration proceeded to implement the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), as proposed by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the Police. As a result, the proposed IPCMC legislation was ditched and the substantially watered down Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) was set up. Now with renewed calls for the revival of the IPCMC given the failure of the EAIC, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (IGP) Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin has again shunned calls to form an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC). The laws are already there. The EAIC is already there. There is no point to keep discussing the IPCMC I feel that the laws are already there and they are stronger than the IPCMC, he said last Saturday. The professionalism of the police force is being questioned again with the unacceptable increase number of deaths under police detention as well as the worrying rise in crime in the country, particularly in the Klang Valley. There are already 9 deaths under detention in less than 6 months this year. At the same time, various gangs armed with parangs or machetes are terrorising open air and public eateries as well as household with increasing frequency and audacity over the past few weeks. The above has yet to include the unprofessional handling of peaceful assemblies over the past few years where even journalists are beaten to pulp, which was condemned even by the Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM). These incidences themselves proved that the EAIC has failed in its objectives to improve on the professionalism of our enforcement agencies. This isnt at all surprising given that the replacement commission was designed to fail with not only a water-down powers, but also with limited funding of only RM7 million a year. At this moment, there is only one investigator is given the ridiculous task of investigating 19 enforcement agencies when this is already its 3rd year of operations. Worse, it has been highlighted that the sole investigator was himself involved in the controversial death of Teoh Beng Hock under Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) which makes a complete mockery of the Governments sincerity and seriousness in tackling the above issues.

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In 2006, the Police had listed down their objections in a special bulletin, listing up to 10 reasons to reject the IPCMC. They claimed that the IPCMC is against national security and public order, people will be the victims and the result will be a state of anarchy, crime cases will be out of control, the IPCMC is against the Federal Constitution, natural justice and the rule of law as it discriminates police personnel from ordinary citizens and that the Act will soften the police. What was shocking then was the threat by the Police that the IPCMC will undermine the ruling coalitions power. Senior police officers were quoted warning that the police will vote for the opposition in the next general election due 2009 and that the PDRM top brass will resign en bloc, policemen will refuse to work overtime and demand for an eight-hour five-day working week, should the IPCMC be established. The Police should not threaten another revolt over the set up of an IPCMC because clearly over the past 7 years, the situation on human rights abuses as well as crime in the country has not improved with any significance despite the ruling governments acquiesce to the Police. Instead the Police should support the set up of an IPCMC because the intent of the Commission is not to victimise the Police but to increase the professionalism of the Police force as well as to improve its effectiveness in carrying out its policing duties. By supporting the IPCMC and weeding out the black sheep within the force while maintaining discipline within the force, the winners will be the Police themselves together with the rakyat. What is more, if the Police is indeed professional and act above board as claimed, then surely there will be nothing to be fearful of the IPCMC. We call on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, to use his new mandate to table a new IPCMC bill in Parliament immediately in the upcoming sitting commencing on the 24th June 2013. Such a bold move is not only consistent with his pledge to carry out his transformation programmes, but will immediately win additional support from the people for his regime.

Whether IPCMC or EAIC matters as IPCMC was proposed to deal specifically to end police custodial deaths while EAIC was established to neuter the IPCMC proposal and to avoid police accountability
LKS The Najib government seems to be making a plausible case when its new media spokesman, the Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, says that when it comes to custodial deaths and abuses of power, what is important is stern action and not which agency whether IPCMC or EAIC.

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He said the rakyat want stern action, whether from an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) or whatever agency. He stressed that a strengthened Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission (EAIC), if it could conduct speedy and thorough investigations into custodial deaths and abuse of power, would do just as well. Khairys glib and slick defence of the governments preference for EAIC instead of IPCMC would be plausible if the scourge of police custody deaths is a new one and not a problem of over a decade, or the government is a new one and not one where the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has entered into his fifth year of premiership! Or is Khairy admitting that for the past four years, despite the Prime Ministers boasts of a very successful Government Transformation Programme (GTP), Najib and his Home Minister for the period, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, had failed miserably in addressing and resolving the issue of police custodial deaths? Neither Khairy or any government spokesman can deny or ignore the fact that the IPCMC was proposed specifically by Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission of Inquiry in 2005 to end the outrage of high police custodial deaths while the EAIC was established specifically to neuter the IPCMC proposal and to avoid meaningful police transparency and accountability. When the Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission of Inquiry submitted its report in May 2005, it reported police statistics of 80 deaths in police custody in the five years from January 2000 to December 2004, or an annual average of 16 deaths in police custody in those five years. With 222 deaths in police custody from 2,000 to now, which means 142 deaths from Jan 2005 to June 2013, this works out to a higher annual average of deaths in police custoday in the past 8 years, i.e. 16.7 deaths. The argument put forward by Khairy that what matters is that Stern action vital, whether it is IPCMC or EAIC in order to end high police custodial deaths might be plausible in 2005 when the country was deciding whether to implement the Dzaiddin RCI recommendation to set up IPCMC, but is now completely unacceptable and discredited as after more than eight years, annual average of police custodial deaths are even higher and the EAIC in the past four years have dismally failed to address the problem of police deaths in custody until the recent nation-wide furore. For this reason, the Cabinet should not indulge in any new form of procrastination to avoid immediate action to end the scandalously high incidence of police custodial deaths, and it should live up to its Transformation brand by taking the policy decision tomorrow to establish the IPCMC in the first meeting of the 13th Parliament beginning next Monday.

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Najib urged to form police bill come Parliament

By Trinna Leong June 17, 2013

PJ MP Tony PuaPrime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should form a new Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) when the new Parliament sits from June 24, 2013, as the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) has failed to do its job, said Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua. "Such a bold move is not only consistent with his pledge to carry out his transformation programmes, but will immediately win additional support from the people for his regime. Pua also asked if the Royal Malaysian Police would threaten to hold another revolt to stop any attempt to set up the IPCMC, as they had done in 2006, when the Royal Commission of Inquiry had suggested to for the commission to be set up. The police force, under previous Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Badawis administration, had opposed such a formation and had warned the government that the force would vote for the opposition in the 12th general election, boycott overtime, and that its top brass would resign en bloc. The statement came in the wake of Deputy Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin pooh-poohing the need for the IPCMC as current laws are already there and (that) they are stronger than the IPCMC. Pua demanded that there be checks and balances within the police force given its lacklustre record in dealing with crime, ill treatment of detainees and violence toward citizens during rallies. There are already 9 deaths under detention in less than 6 months this year, Pua said. At the same time, various gangs armed with parangs or machetes are terrorising open-air and public eateries as well as households with increasing frequency and audacity over the

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past few weeks, he added. The MP pointed to flaws in the current EAIC, which is tasked with investigating enforcement agencies including the police department. The commission was reported to have assigned one investigator to examine 19 enforcement agencies, even employing an investigator that was previously tied to the death of Teoh Beng Hock, a political aide to the opposition party, three years ago. He said the EAIC should be replaced because of a lack of intent to produce checks and balances within these agencies. The EAIC was "designed to fail with not only watered-down powers, but also with limited funding of only RM7 million a year", added Pua, the DAP national publicity secretary. The EAIC has, from its inception in September 2011 and until the end of 2012, recommended only one disciplinary action and two warnings to civil servants. The police should support the setting up of an IPCMC because the intent of this commission is not to victimise the police but to increase the professionalism of the force, Pua said. If the police is indeed professional and act above board as claimed, then surely there will be nothing to be fearful of the IPCMC.

Friday July 24, 2009

Why we need the IPCMC

Comment by P GUNASEGARAM WELL, a Royal Commission will look into interrogation procedures while the tragic death of young political activist Teoh Beng Hock itself will be investigated by an inquest to be headed by a magistrate. But, really, all these would have been totally unnecessary if the key recommendation of another Royal Commission, headed by a former chief judge and assisted by a former

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inspector-general of police or IGP had been followed for the setting up of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission or IPCMC. The IPCMC should have become the institution that independently, fairly and firmly investigates all transgressions by the police and other related agencies, and in some cases even metes out punishment for these. We badly need an institutionalised process to deal with malpractices by enforcement agencies. The Royal Commission on the police was set up in 2004 and was headed by Tun Mohammed Dzaiddin Abdullah with Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar as deputy chairman. Its findings were made public the following year. It had recommended the setting up of the IPCMC and even enclosed draft legislation for that purpose, detailing its powers of investigation and inquiry to help fight corruption in the force and to investigate public complaints. This commission should of course be extended to other enforcement agencies such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) from whose building Teoh fell to his death after at least 10 hours of continuous interrogation which went late into the night. The current IGP has told us Malaysians not to speculate on why Teoh fell to his death, assuring us that the police will fully investigate the case. But the public is bound to speculate on the reasons, and the only way such speculation can be stopped is to get to the truth of the matter. The public is not going to have confidence in a fellow law-enforcement agency the police investigating a case which may implicate the MACC. The basic premise of that and it is a reasonable one is that police investigations will be coloured when they investigate fellow officers. The inquest into Teohs death, to be headed by a magistrate, will have limited value because it can in most cases establish only whether or not there was foul play. A magistrates inquest will not find the culprit if there is one. So whats the point? The next Royal Commission of Inquiry will be set up to look into interrogation methods by the MACC. This area has already been covered and recommendations made by the IPCMC, but these are yet to be fully implemented. What applies to the police should similarly apply to the MACC as far as interrogation is concerned. To amplify the point, it helps to look at the previous recorded case of death following interrogation, that of A. Kugan, earlier this year. Then as now, the police gave an assurance that there would be full and fair investigations and no cover-up. The first post mortem on Kugan was contradicted by a second post mortem which found that Kugan was tortured while under police detention. Subsequently, a 10-man

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independent committee studied the two post mortems but without the benefit of the body, which had been buried. They unanimously agreed there was no evidence of thermal injuries in the skin on the back of the deceased as reported in the second post mortem. Their findings were revealed by Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican. But the composition of the panel was not revealed. The police have said that their investigations are complete and have been submitted to Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail. But so far, six months after Kugan died, no one has been charged. There have been many other deaths in custody but no one has been brought to book so far. According to the Royal Commission report on the police, in 2004 alone, there were 15 deaths in police lock-ups through out the country, involving people of all races. Of this only in one case was there an instruction to prosecute. That indicates clearly and without any ambiguity the extent of mistreatment that does take place at police stations and lock-ups and the need for independent investigation of these circumstances. Independent and fair investigation can only be done by an independent body headed by credible people who have wide-ranging powers under the law to not only investigate but to prosecute as well. The police themselves strongly and openly lobbied together with other bodies against the setting up of the IPCMC. Subsequent events have clearly showed that the IPCMC should have been set up and that the action of the police and related agencies, including the MACC, should be closely monitored by an independent body. No less than a former chief judge, a former IGP and other distinguished panellists have said so in their recommendations for the police. It is too early to say who caused Teohs death but the truth is going to be very difficult to establish without the IPCMC or a similar body. If anyone has no doubts as to whether the police and related agencies can fairly investigate cases against their own kind, ask yourself this question: How many of us would send our own sons to prison or to the gallows even if they did wrong? In every country where an independent body has been set up to oversee the behaviour of police and related agencies, there has been a considerable reduction in police corruption and misconduct. That will benefit everyone irrespective of race, creed or religion.

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So lets do the right thing and set up the IPCMC. In that way we can be sure that the deaths of Teoh, Kugan, etc, will at least be fairly investigated, and every effort made to bring the culprits to book. In that way too, their deaths would not have been completely in vain. > Managing editor P. Gunasegaram says that justice delayed is better than justice denied.

EAIC chief transferred to AG Chambers, no successor named

By Mohd Farhan Darwis June 27, 2013

Just three weeks after highlighting the shortcomings in the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC), its chief executive officer Nor Afizah Hanum Mokhtar (pic) has been removed and sent back to the Attorney-General's Chambers (A-GC). She was issued a transfer letter dated June 24, 2013 which required her to report for duty at the A-GC on July 1. No successor has been named for the EAIC which probes complaints of misconduct in 19 enforcement agencies. The letter did not state what position she will assume at the A-GC nor were any reasons given for her transfer, judicial sources told The Malaysian Insider. In the exclusive interview with The Malaysian Insider three weeks ago, Nor Afizah touched on why the commission was largely seen as being ineffective in carrying its duties since it was set up. The former sessions court judge spoke up following the death in custody of truck driver N. Dhamendran at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters lock-up, which led to 17

opposition leaders and activists reiterating the call for the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to probe misconduct in the force. The IPCMC, which was mooted by the 2005 royal commission (RCI) chaired by former Chief Justice Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah but shot down by the police, was to be modelled on the United Kingdoms Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), as well as other police oversight bodies in New South Wales and Queensland in Australia, and Hong Kong. But Nor Afizah said the EAIC was hamstrung by having only one investigating officer to probe complaints against the enforcement agencies under the commission's purview. We have very limited manpower, Nor Afizah told The Malaysian Insider then. The commission has 23 staff, including the investigating officer, clerks, a driver, legal adviser, administrative officer and an operations director. It used to have six investigating offices but all except one was recalled back to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) last May 16. The sole investigating officer, with 11 years experience under his belt, was said to have been involved in questioning DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock hours before he was found dead on July 16, 2009. The EAIC, which was set up in April 2011, investigates complaints of misconduct against the police force, the Immigration Department, the Customs Department, the Rela Corps, the National Anti-Drug Agency, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, the Department of Environment, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, the National Registration Department (NRD), the Department of Civil Aviation, the Road Transport Department (RTD), the Department of Industrial Relations, the Department of Fisheries, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, the Manpower Department, the Health Ministry (Enforcement), the Tourism Ministry (Enforcement and Licensing units), the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry (Enforcement) and the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government (Enforcement). Nor Afizah had said the EAIC needed an annual budget of at least RM25 million, as well as at least 10 investigating officers and 10 research officers to operate effectively. She added that they had received 469 complaints as of May 31 this year since it was formed, with 353 complaints against the police. Twenty-one complaints were lodged against the Immigration Department, 15 against the RTD, 10 against the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, and nine against the Customs Department. - June 27, 2013.

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