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No more excuses, form IPCMC now

Malaysia Kini - January 23, 2009

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi must immediately form the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), said Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) today.

Following the latest custodial death involving a 22-year-old youth, the opposition party pointed out that there is just no more room for excuses or reasons.

PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan said the death of Kugan Ananthan is not an isolated case and reflected the failure of the government to protect those kept under its custody.

"We are further angered by the fact that the police are now trying to divert the issue from death in custody to tampering with evidence of the body of the victim," he added in a statement.

Police chief rapped

Arutchelvan also took Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar to task for stating that the bruises on the body of the victim did not cause his death.

"With such kind of attitude, it would be useless and a waste of public funds to get the police to investigate this death.

"The police chief should be immediately disciplined for his action and removed completely from this case for interfering in the investigation," said Arutchelvan.

"We have heard too much and seen too little done. The government must take total responsibility. To date the government has failed to implement a Coroner Court system and this has resulted in many cases of inquest on death in custody being delayed and justice denied.

"We have lost all faith and confidence that the police can conduct a fair investigation. The failure of the government to immediately redress this issue would be seen as a blatant act of negligence on the part of the government to protect its citizen," he added.

Kugan, who was arrested in connection with several luxury car theft cases on Jan 15, died at the Taipan police station in Subang Jaya on Tuesday.

His family has accused the police of foul play and are currently waiting for a second post-mortem to be done. The first post-mortem found that Kugan had died due to 'liquid in his lungs'.

Family deserves a second chance

In a related development, Deputy Minister of Plantations and Commodities Kohilan Pillay said the family of the victim deserves a second chance. "Due to the circumstances surrounding his death, it is my strong belief that the family of the deceased deserves the whole truth on the circumstances of his death," he added in a statement.

Kohilan said he is certain that a second autopsy will provide some of the answers that the family needs to overcome their grief and sadness. "It is important that second autopsy is independent and be seen as independent," he added.

The Gerakan vice-president also said despite Kugan being a suspect in a police investigation, it is crucial that the police conduct their investigations within the remit of the law and uphold all procedures as democracy warrants.

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