Better police accountability needed

The New Straits Times

GEORGE TOWN: The Federal Constitution has provided for the formation of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

Malaysia Bar Council president Christopher Leong urged the Federal government to set up IPCMC for better transparency in the police force.

He said IPCMC, recommended by the commission nine years ago, was overdue for the force, whose image had been tarnished in recent years by a slew of police custodian deaths.

“There is an urgency to deal with the complaints and the negative perception of the police.

“It is high time IPCMC was in place to improve the police’s performance,” he said at a public forum entitled “Police Accountability” here, last Saturday.

According to information received from the Federal Government in Parliament on June 26 last year, Leong said, there were 231 deaths in police custody between 2000 and May 2013.

“The statistics show about one death in police custody every three weeks during that period,” he said.

Leong gave an account of multiple bodily injuries sustained by a 32-year-old police detainee who was found dead at the Kuala Lumpur contingent headquarters on May 21 last year.

He said the police must take a hard look at improving its reputation.

“The stakes are high. The police must do something to address their flaws in handling custodian deaths,” he said.

Leong said other challenges identified by the Royal Commission were alleged widespread corruption and power abuse.

Earlier, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had urged for IPCMC to be set up to help the police.

Lim, in his keynote address, said IPCMC was needed to hear out the complaints about the police.

He said IPCMC could also help to prevent the force from being misused for political reasons. 

By Phuah Ken Lin