(Malaysiakini) The death of 23-year-old A Kugan in police custody in 2009 saw outrage from both sides of the political divide, and yesterday's acquittal of a police officer charged of causing grievous harm to the forklift driver is again putting them on the same page.
Speaking to Malaysiakini late yesterday, PKR Kapar parliamentarian M Manickavasagam said Pakatan was willing to work with BN to bring justice to Kugan, and correcting the flaws in the system which led to his death and the "shocking" acquittal of constable V Navindran.
"We are willing to cooperate with BN parties who are also pushing for a royal commission of inquiry (on the matter), (MIC supreme council member) K Devamany, (MIC Youth chief) T Mohan and (MIC leader) T Murugiah all saw the injuries, so they should do something too," said the MP who represents Kugan's family.
Manickavasagam were among the few politicians in the forefront to press for a second post-mortem for the deceased. The autopsy subsequently revealed that Kugan was starved, burned and beaten in the five days in custody.
"It's shocking. After the Teoh Beng Hock open verdict and M Krishnan's second post-mortem, which came back with stomach ulcer again despite his bruises, this just smells like another case of cover-up.
"This was a clear-cut case. The injuries was so severe and he was at the mercy of the police," he lamented.
RCI better than inquest
In an immediate response yesterday, MIC leaders including Mohan called for a royal commission, not only into the death of Kugan, who was remanded under suspicion of car theft, but also on the high instances of deaths in police custody.
Similarly, the MIC leaders see eye-to -eye with DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang who renewed his call for an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), proposed six years ago by another royal commission.
Speaking to Malaysiakini late yesterday, PKR Kapar parliamentarian M Manickavasagam said Pakatan was willing to work with BN to bring justice to Kugan, and correcting the flaws in the system which led to his death and the "shocking" acquittal of constable V Navindran.
"We are willing to cooperate with BN parties who are also pushing for a royal commission of inquiry (on the matter), (MIC supreme council member) K Devamany, (MIC Youth chief) T Mohan and (MIC leader) T Murugiah all saw the injuries, so they should do something too," said the MP who represents Kugan's family.
Manickavasagam were among the few politicians in the forefront to press for a second post-mortem for the deceased. The autopsy subsequently revealed that Kugan was starved, burned and beaten in the five days in custody.
"It's shocking. After the Teoh Beng Hock open verdict and M Krishnan's second post-mortem, which came back with stomach ulcer again despite his bruises, this just smells like another case of cover-up.
"This was a clear-cut case. The injuries was so severe and he was at the mercy of the police," he lamented.
RCI better than inquest
In an immediate response yesterday, MIC leaders including Mohan called for a royal commission, not only into the death of Kugan, who was remanded under suspicion of car theft, but also on the high instances of deaths in police custody.
Similarly, the MIC leaders see eye-to -eye with DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang who renewed his call for an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), proposed six years ago by another royal commission.
Manickavasagam stressed that a royal commission, not an inquest, is needed because of the number of 'open verdicts' in death-in-custody cases.
"(Former police chief) Musa Hassan promised that inquests will be conducted for all deaths in custody cases, but only a few did. Of that, many returned an open verdict, like R Gunasekaran and Teoh Beng Hock inquests.
"We've had so much resistance in all these cases, even just to have a second post-mortem. We even have problems viewing the body, we always have to put up a fight. The system is faulty," he said.
"(Former police chief) Musa Hassan promised that inquests will be conducted for all deaths in custody cases, but only a few did. Of that, many returned an open verdict, like R Gunasekaran and Teoh Beng Hock inquests.
"We've had so much resistance in all these cases, even just to have a second post-mortem. We even have problems viewing the body, we always have to put up a fight. The system is faulty," he said.
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