Will Kugan get the justice he deserves?

'This has happened so many times in our country. Why would this case be any different? The life of an average Malaysian has become chillingly cheap.'

On Probe paper on Kugan's death almost completed

A Malaysian: Not be too pessimistic, but I don’t think Kugan will get the justice he deserves. Why? Well, just look at the track record of the Malaysian police force. Has the force ever done anything to be really proud of? And while we are on the subject of track records, our justice system is nothing to be proud of either.

Judging by the media coverage, it seems our police force is more interested in catching pirated disc peddlers and those who gather peacefully for vigils and protests rather than go after real criminals. Does the government think the rakyat has forgotten about the brutal murder of Nurin and the dissapearances of Sharlinie and Mohd Asmawi? What has the force done in these unsolved cases? Apart from distributing posters, nothing much.

Let me make a prediction. Kugan’s second post-mortem will be inconclusive, his family will protest and a long court case will follow. All the while, his alleged murderers will be pushing pens while on ‘desk duty’. And the government will continue promising a thorough and impartial investigation.

If the case ever goes on trial, it will be hampered by long and mind-boggling technicalities. People will get tired of reading it, interest will slowly fade and the memory of A Kugan will only live on the minds of those who knew him. Six months from now, who will remember him?

Sadly, this has happened so many times in our country. Why would this case be any different? The life of an average Malaysian has become chillingly cheap. All we can do now is protect ourselves as it seems like the very people who are tasked with protecting us have become our biggest enemies.

Peter Ooi: Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan must understand Kugan's family for barging into the mortuary to view his body. I do not condone their actions but I do understand their feelings.

A healthy young man in his early twenty's has died suddenly in detention. Who in their right frame of mind would believe such a thing? And it is becoming worryingly frequent for young, able bodied men to meet their fate under police detention.

Yes, Kugan's sudden death is puzzling and the culprits must pay the price.

The AG ,for one, has been fast in classifying the case as murder. His speed is impressive but I do have my reservations. After seeing the police bungling up in so many high-profile cases, I have my doubts that they will do a good job on this one, especially when the accused could be one of their own comrades. My only prayer is that this time around, they can prove otherwise.

Xroy: After watching the video footage of his relatives viewing his dead body, and after hearing what one of the relatives was saying in Tamil, I must agree with the relative that Kugan died much earlier than reported.

The relatives did not look like a mob as described by the Inspector General of police, and the claim that they could have tampered with evidence is even more alarming. It smacks of a deliberate attempt not to solve this murder, under the guise that the evidence was tampered with.

If indeed they did not want the relatives to be there, the police should have completed the post mortem and returned the body to Kugan's family, why was this not done?

The ghost of Altantuya seems to be haunting us in this case, it looks so abundantly clear that there are some people who will get away with murder as they have in the Altantuya case.

My only assumption is Kugan could have known too much in this case and that left some people uncomfortable. Who were those men who turned up at his aunt's home the morning after his arrests looking for him claiming to be police? Only the police will be able to shed some light in this.

Are we dealing with a criminal police force?

If, as they so often claim, MIC is really a party championing the cause of the Indians in this country, the party, particularly Samy Vellu, have a grave issue in their hands.

Is he going to come out and demand action or is he too afraid to do that? Or is he only concerned about the MIC elections and his political survival?

T Rozario: Dear Tan Sri Musa Hassan, you cannot refer to the family of police detainee A Kugan, for whom you, as head of the police force was custodian, who rushed into the mortuary to inspect his body after they discovered he had died in custody, as a mob.

People normally refer to organised criminals who kill as the ‘mob’. These were concerned members of a family and they certainly can't be referred to as the ‘mob’. I hope you'll correct your statement and find out who the ‘mob’ in this case really is.

I just can't believe how someone could get behind police lines and kill Kugan now that the AG has classified his death as murder.

MP: Kugan's case shows how much a life is worth in our country. The first action taken by President Obama was to ban torture during interrogations in the USA.

Can the government of Malaysia also pass an order banning torture on suspected criminals by police as well as those under the draconian ISA? We proclaim to the whole world that Malaysia is a modern country, but our actions speak louder than words!

Megat Z: Charge the doctor who carried out the first post-mortem for making a false report? What false report? What he reported was the cause of death. From his findings, he concluded that the cause of death was due to "liquid in the lungs" .

There should instead be a probe into how the liquid got into Kugan’s lungs or how a person could drown while in detention. Remember, a person can drown in a pail of water...

Do not charge the doctor but charge the person who brought in that pail of water into the cell. If such a thing did indeed happen.

On 'Morgue raid': Deputy ministers can face action

P Sritharan: Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar has two cases to deal with: the mysterious death of A Kugan while under police custody and the presence of two deputy ministers in the mortuary in which the deceased’s body was being kept. The duo, along with Kugan’s distraught family members, have been widely accused of barging into the mortuary.

Being a senior minister with a legal background, Syed Hamid should know which of these cases is more serious and warrants an immediate, impartial and thorough investigation.

However, our ‘wise’ minister seems more irritated by presence of the two deputy ministers in the mortuary than the mysterious death of a 22 year-old-youth while under police custody.

The deputy ministers, either directly or indirectly, were duty bound to be there. Hence, they should be lauded for their prompt attendance and not be threatened with criminal action. Even if at all they might have done anything wrong, Syed Hamid should have met them personally to find out their side of the story.

Instead, the Home Minister issues statements that belittle the deputy ministers for carrying out their duties as elected representatives of the people. If the rakyat cannot depend on good, fearless government servants such as these in their time of need, who can they turn to? Please don’t say the police.

Syed Hamid, if this is how your government handles such cases, rest assured more people will vote for the opposition, not because they are perfect, but out of frustration and in retaliation against Barisan Nasional.

Milton Yap: I am livid that the Home Minister has threatened to take action against the two deputy ministers. It is more and more telling that the authorities are trying to cover up a gross injustice by the police.

Instead of going after the real people who caused the atrocities, they are going after the people who try to uncover these criminal acts. I can’t wait for the next general election when we can vote out this uncaring government.

In the meantime, we must ask our prime minister and the prime-minister-in-waiting what they intend to do with Syed Hamid. Are they going to let him make more and more mistakes so that the people can vote the BN out?

There has been a string of such mistakes by the Home Minister, including the detention of the Sin Chew Daily journalist. So, it appears that we have a government who persecutes those who uncover criminal activities instead of those who carry them out.

In Kugan’s case, it appears that there is a plan to cover up the incident. For example, was the doctor who conducted the first post mortem under pressure from the police? He should come clean on this. If not, he should be investigated, his licence revoked and be charged for perversion of justice.

The Selangor police chief should also be investigated if he had sought to cover up the activities of his men. He should be suspended immediately.

On Palanivel: Set up independent committee

Vijay: The MIC never ceases to amaze and disgust. I wonder what drivel its deputy president Palanevel was speaking about when he asked for a committee to investigate Kugan's murder so that it "can create greater transparency and accountability on the part of the government". What transparency and accountability is he referring to? These two elements of any respectable government have been dead in the corridors of the Malaysian government for a very long time

The time for accountability is long gone, it is now time for justice and retribution. Yes, an enquiry must be held, but to identify all the police personnel involved and find a fitting punishment to be meted out to them.

Whether directly involved or not, those guilty must include the Home Minister and the Inspector General of Police. For too long and too often have such incidents of torture taken place under their leadership. Not to hold them both accountable now would be akin to abetting in the murder of Kugan.

Palanivel goes on to "laud the police for acting quickly on the matter". For heaven' sake, they were trying to cover up the matter! Every time a non-Umno Barisan Nasional politician makes a statement, he always feels compelled to include a fawning compliment. Why?

In any other country, those in high places would have resigned by now. But then, for that to happen, you would need to have a decent and honourable government. Such a thing is unheard of in this country.