Suaram and Aliran are demanding police take proactive steps to stop the occurrence of further custodial deaths and to charge guilty officers.
FMT
GEORGE TOWN: Two civil rights groups here want the Penang CPO Senior Deputy Commissioner Abdul Rahim Hanafi to take proactive steps to stop the incidence of police custodial deaths, of which Penang had the highest in 2014.
Suaram and Aliran have claimed that of the 14 deaths in custody that took place across the country last year, nine occurred in Penang.
The NGOs said eight were deaths that occurred directly or indirectly in police lockups, while one occurred in Penang Prison.
In a joint statement, the NGOs said, “Each death is a travesty and tragedy for the persons concerned and their families.
“We have been highlighting the all too regular occurrence of custodial deaths for many years but little seems to have changed.
Yesterday Penang recorded its first custodial death of the year when a 63-year-old African under remand for a drug hearing died at the Penang Hospital due to heart complications.
The statement also said his was the second reported in the country this year, with the first being the death of a 31-year-old Indian man at the Ayer Molek police lockup in Johor.
“The police should be protecting the public; no one should be dying in police stations especially not in contentious circumstances, the statement read, adding, “Enough is enough. It is time to put a stop to this.”
Suaram and Aliran now want the Penang CPO to outline clearly the steps being taken to ensure no further custodial deaths in Penang and to investigate why last year’s deaths occurred.
The organisations also called on the CPO to provide full accounting to the families of the victims and to the public, concerning the circumstances surrounding the victims’ deaths and the steps taken to bring justice to the victims by charging the culprits.
“The Penang CPO should file charges against the police officers who are found to have transgressed their duties and were involved in causing the deaths of those under their protection.
“The CPO must do it immediately without fear or favour as a matter of urgent public interest,” said the NGOs.
FMT
GEORGE TOWN: Two civil rights groups here want the Penang CPO Senior Deputy Commissioner Abdul Rahim Hanafi to take proactive steps to stop the incidence of police custodial deaths, of which Penang had the highest in 2014.
Suaram and Aliran have claimed that of the 14 deaths in custody that took place across the country last year, nine occurred in Penang.
The NGOs said eight were deaths that occurred directly or indirectly in police lockups, while one occurred in Penang Prison.
In a joint statement, the NGOs said, “Each death is a travesty and tragedy for the persons concerned and their families.
“We have been highlighting the all too regular occurrence of custodial deaths for many years but little seems to have changed.
Yesterday Penang recorded its first custodial death of the year when a 63-year-old African under remand for a drug hearing died at the Penang Hospital due to heart complications.
The statement also said his was the second reported in the country this year, with the first being the death of a 31-year-old Indian man at the Ayer Molek police lockup in Johor.
“The police should be protecting the public; no one should be dying in police stations especially not in contentious circumstances, the statement read, adding, “Enough is enough. It is time to put a stop to this.”
Suaram and Aliran now want the Penang CPO to outline clearly the steps being taken to ensure no further custodial deaths in Penang and to investigate why last year’s deaths occurred.
The organisations also called on the CPO to provide full accounting to the families of the victims and to the public, concerning the circumstances surrounding the victims’ deaths and the steps taken to bring justice to the victims by charging the culprits.
“The Penang CPO should file charges against the police officers who are found to have transgressed their duties and were involved in causing the deaths of those under their protection.
“The CPO must do it immediately without fear or favour as a matter of urgent public interest,” said the NGOs.
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