Police culture of impunity has worsened, says group

(Malaysiakini) The culture of impunity that surrounds the work of the police and other law enforcement agencies has worsened, according to a human rights report by Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) for 2010.

Even as complaints against the police have mounted, the police appear to be getting more "trigger-happy" by the year.

Unless there is immediate change whereby the authorities operate in a more transparent and accountable manner, the number of people dying from police bullets and within police custody will climb further, said the report.

Revealing the findings today, Suaram chairperson K Arumugam (left) predicted that the situation will worsen due to the authorities' failure to halt the downward slide in the human rights situation.

“The human rights situation next year will worsen as people in power do not want to change. They cling to power instead of fighting for liberty," said the activist lawyer.

The report was launched today in Kuala Lumpur by Suaram.

Also present at the launch was 32-year-old noodle seller Ho Chei Hang, who was shot by police last year.

Ho, whose case were among those documented in the Suaram report, was shot four times in the back by police on November 16.

"My husband had an operation in January to remove the last bullet in him, but the operation failed. The doctor said that the bullet was too close to a blood vessel," said Ho's wife, Tan Chsiew Yong.

The police have said they believed Ho was a suspected drug-trafficker who had tried to ram into their officers.

Police shootings on the rise
The report documented a similar explanation by police over the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Aminurulrasyid Amzah after a high speed car chase on April 26, 2010.

Police had claimed that Aminurulrasyid (right) had attempted to reverse his vehicle into police officers, forcing them to open fire.

In addition to Aminulrasyid, a total of 18 other individuals - foreigners and locals - were shot dead by police last year, states the report.

The report attributed the trend of police shooting to “systematic non-compliance” and disregard for human rights by the authorities and their lack of political will to ensure robust investigation into such cases.

“Every complaint of abuse of power is an opportunity to learn from past mistakes and improve the police force and other enforcement agencies.

“Yet, the authorities continue to resist such demands for systematic change,” the report reads.

It recommended that the police force be open up to independent investigation through the setting up of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct (IPCMC) and a Coroner's Court to arrest the present trend of police shootings.

Echoing the recommendations, Suaram director Kua Kia Soong, insisted that IPCMC must be set up if the immunity currently enjoyed by the police despite abuses is to stop.