Custodial Deaths 12 Questions For Police S Cosmeticians

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Seven individuals have died in police custody in the first five weeks of 2022. We know this thanks to an announcement practice introduced by the police this year.
Credit for the practice must be given to the public who pressed for reform of the police force. Public pressure led to the creation of a special unit to “investigate” deaths in police custody. The unit began operations in January this year.
The ‘Unit Siasatan Jenayah dan Kematian dalam Tahanan (USJKT)’ is in the Integrity and Standards Department (JIPS), Bukit Aman police headquarters, led by director Azri bin Ahmad. We commend him for rapidly announcing the seven deaths.
According to his announcements, two of the victims expired in hospitals. We hope this does not mean that the police are evading responsibility for these deaths.
Do the unit’s formation and the string of announcements show the public that the police are serious about ending deaths in police custody?
The numbers are shocking. The announcements raise many questions.
1. No deaths by police shootings have been reported. Have the police chosen to exclude such shootings from the scope of the unit?
2. In the first five weeks of this year, as many people have died in police lockups as in all of 2021. Did the police under-report deaths in police custody in 2021?
3. Why have the names of the victims been withheld?
4. Have the victims’ families been informed? (A brother of December 2019 victim Kumar Selvadurai has lodged a police report claiming the police did not inform Kumar’s family of his death[ii].)
5. Have the victims’ families been advised about the next steps in the investigations of the deaths?
6. In one of the cases, two detainees and two officers were remanded for investigation. Their remands expired on Jan 20. Has anyone been charged?
7. Have the police been treating anyone as a suspect in the other six cases?
8. Will completed Investigation Reports be submitted to the coroner within one month of each death, per CID Directive No 10/2004, as promised by the then inspector-general of police to the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police chaired by former Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah?
9. Has the Chemistry Department committed to fast-tracking all analyses related to deaths in custody?[iv] (Since post-mortem reports cannot be completed without laboratory analysis results.)
10. Why is there a lack of consistency in the announcements? For instance, the ethnicity of victims has been revealed only in four of the seven announcements and remand dates have not been released for the sixth victim.
11. Why do the announcements give prominence to crimes the victims are alleged to have committed? We remind JIPS that persons are innocent until proven guilty. We urge JIPS to say in every statement that no one should die in police custody.
12. Will the police ask coroners to conduct inquests into all deaths in custody? (Section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Code mandates that every death in police custody must be intimated to a coroner.)
In light of public concern over deaths in custody, we urge the attorney-general to exercise his power under section 339 of the CPC to direct coroners to conduct inquiries into every death in custody.
Serious efforts must be made to restore public confidence in the police. There are three critical components to success. Without these components, USJKT will be just another cosmetics kit to cover up serious failings.
First, complete transparency about deaths in custody. Such transparency will send a message to senior police officers to limit detentions, prioritise spending in detention facilities and services, and ensure effective supervision and training of officers responsible for detainees’ welfare, as required by the Police Act, section 20(3)(m).
Second, the majority of deaths in custody must result in police officers being subjected rapidly to disciplinary or criminal sanctions.
Third, investigations must be conducted by an independent commission such as the IOPC (England and Wales), commended in the Parliamentary Special Select Committee report on the IPCMC Bill (2019). - Mkini
Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (Caged) continues to reject investigations of deaths in custody by the police.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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