Don't practise double standards, Waytha tells police

The Malaysian Hindraf Association has urged the police to stop practising double standards in investigating its own officers over deaths in police custody, which have been on the rise in recent weeks.

The association’s chairperson P Waythamoorthy said in a statement today that the Home Ministry should also immediately sanction an independent inquiry into the three deaths in custody which have taken place in the last 11 days.

P Karuna Nithi, a 42-year-old former engineer, was the latest death-in-custody victim who died in a lock-up in Tampin on Saturday.

This follows the death of N Dhamendran, 32, who died at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters on May 21, and the death of R Ramesh Jamesh, 40, who died at the Penang police headquarters on May 26.

"Though the police claim to be investigating a murder case (over Dhamendran’s death), none of the suspects have thus far been arrested and remanded pending completion of investigations.

"This has raised suspicion amongst the public as ordinary suspects are normally arrested and remanded on the flimsiest accusations.

"Aren’t the police practising double standards?" Waythamoorthy, who was recently appointed deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said in his statement.

"The police can never go on giving flimsy excuses for these mysterious deaths and apply double standards in the investigations involving their own men."

BN men also condemn deaths

Meanwhile, MIC president G Palanivel urged a neutral body to be set up to oversee detainees being held in police custody.

"All persons who are detained should not be locked up in local police stations.

"They should be immediately transferred to the respective state police headquarters,” he said in a statement today.

He added that the detainees should be treated fairly and any form of punishment meted out should be by the courts and not the police.

In another statement, Gerakan vice-president A Kohilan Pillay, who described the deaths as "unacceptable", said  the police should not act as executioner.

"I hope that action will be taken immediately to find those who are truly responsible for the death of the three men.

"At the same time, swift preventive measures must be taken to curtail any future deaths in custody as it will only tarnish the already stained image of the police force," he said.

However, both of the BN men made no specific mention about an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) which the opposition said it will push for in the coming Parliament sitting and has asked for the ruling coalition’s support.

In a separate statement, NGO Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) claimed that Karuna Nithi’s death was the eighth death in police custody this year alone.

"Unfortunately the list is sure to grow longer by the end of the year. Interrogation methods and the standard operating procedure (SOP) in handling suspects must be urgently reviewed and reformed.

"The police force must undergo an immediate overhaul and provide urgent training in basic human rights and the proper and humane treatment of prisoners and detainees," said Suaram coordinator R Thevarajan.

It demanded an end to these "serious violations of human rights".