Kugan judgment 'a damning indictment on government'

Wednesday's High Court ruling on A Kugan's death in police custody is a damning indictment of the government's handling of such cases, says MIC treasurer-general Senator Jaspal Singh.

Jaspal said it also showed that the people could can no longer accept or tolerate custodial deaths.

"The home minister stated in Parliament that the government will not protect wrong-doers. He must now keep his word. The Kugan investigation must be re-opened and his killers must be found and charged.

"Justice VT Singham said the 45 injuries on Kugan's body are an indication that more than one person was involved in torturing him.

"The judge (left) also said these injuries, including a wide range of internal injuries, speaks volumes of what had happened during his detention. Yet only one policeman, V Navindran, was found guilty," Jaspal said in a statement.

In light of the landmark Kugan judgment, he said, the cabinet must review its decision not to form the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

"Whether it was the IPCMC or otherwise, the police cannot be expected to investigate themselves.

"They certainly cannot be sitting on the board of the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission or the IPCMC. The government must act swiftly to address public outrage over this case. Public trust is easily lost and hard to recoup," Jaspal added.

Skeletons in the cupboard

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang said Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had said two weeks ago that the clear message from Malaysian voters in the last general election was that they want the government to be more stern and bold in defending the important institutions of the country.

However, Lim said, Kugan's judgment against the police and Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar and the court case involving Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi were in the opposite to those calls.

"It is unlikely for the home minister to suggest that the IGP assumes full responsibility for Kugan's death when the question remains as to why the police did not investigate or charge Ahmad Zahid for the offence of assault against Amir Bazli Abdullah way back in 2006.

"Similarly, it is unlikely that the IGP can suggest that the home minister should assume full responsibility for the 2006 assault case when Khalid himself is in the dock over responsibility for Kugan's death in police custody in 2009," Lim said in a statement.

The Gelang Patah MP said both the minister and the IGP seemed to be trapped in a lockstep, with neither able to assert authority over the other because each has a "skeleton in the cupboard".

"Is this the way for the BN government to restore national and international confidence in the key institutions of the country after the 13th general election?" he asked.

In less than two months after GE13, Lim said, the BN was already facing a full-blown crisis on good governance.

Malaysians, he added, were entitled to know how Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak proposed to resolve these matters, whether he would terminate, suspend or ask both Ahmad Zahid and Khalid to take leave of absence from their offices until both have cleared themselves.