Press Statement By DAP Secretary-General And MP For Bagan Lim Guan Eng In Penang On 9.6.2013.
Necessity Of Establishing The Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Has International Relevance Following The Death Of A Japanese Detainee In Order To Gain Public Confidence That There Are No Abuses Of Power Or Torture In Custodial Deaths.
The necessity to establish the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) has international relevance following the death of a Japanese detainee in order to gain public confidence that there are no abuses of power or torture in custodial deaths. The death of aJapanese man who was found hanged at the grille of his lock-up cell at a Subang Jaya police station early Saturday, is the fourth custodial death in 2 weeks.
This international dimension of the tragedy of custodial deaths prevalent in Malaysia has clearly tarnished Malayisa’s international reputation and smeared the image of Malaysia’s police force, new Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Selangor deputy police chief Datuk A.Thaiveegan said an autopsy report issued by the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre found that the 33-year old Japanese detainee, Nobuhiro Matsushita, died as a result of hanging and that there were no injures on his body. Whatever the cause of death, the police has to come clean on these prevalent custodial deaths and fully explain how these detainees can die either by their own hand or by the very policemen meant to protect them.
How many more must die before the tragedy of custodial deaths are stopped? Only the establishment of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) can prevent needless custodial deaths and it would be very sad that a Japanese detainee must die in police custody before moving the BN Federal government to act. This latest fourth death in 2 weeks follows the 3 earlier deaths of:-
• Karuna Nithi’s Tampin police lock-up on 4 June,
• R James Ramesh in a Penang police lockup on May 26; and
• the brutal killing of N Dhamendran with 52 injuries, while in a KL police headquarters lockup on May 21.
The number of custodial deaths since 2000 is 219, a shocking figure that is sure to rise without any safeguards and preventive mechanism such as the IPCMC. There is no reason why the BN Federal government refuses such oversight of the police when it is recommended in 2005 by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Police.
Malaysians are shocked by the serial repetitions of custodial deaths that continue to occur despite assurances from BN Federal government Ministers that there will be safety and protection measures in place for detainees. Even former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Musa Hasan said that he had not opposed the IPCMC when he was the IGP, provided that the police had a right to appeal to courts against the decisions made by IPCMC.
Whilst some of the custodial deaths may be due to natural causes, the public will continue to have grave suspicions in police interrogation methods unless the police can assure the public that they are not only clean, but are seen to be clean. The public have lost hope in new Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who clearly lacks urgency in protecting human rights and preventing custodial deaths as well as is completely disinterested in fighting crime but is more focused on using harsh and oppressive methods to silence any political dissent to protect BN.
Only a transparent and accountable mechanism which is available by establishing the IPCMC, can restore public confidence and reassure the public that detainees in police custody will be safe. Otherwise, the public will have recurring nightmares that should any of their loved ones be placed in police custody, they may not walk out alive.
Lim Guan Eng
——BM Version —
民主行动党兼峇眼区国会议员林冠英于2013年6月19日在槟城发表声明：
随着一个日本藉扣留者在警方扣留所内死亡，成立独立警察投诉及行动不检委员会（IPCMC）已经是一项国际需要，以恢复公众信心，让人民相信警局扣留所没有滥权及拷打。
随着一个日本藉扣留者在警方扣留所内死亡，成立独立警察投诉及行动不检委员会（IPCMC）已经是一项国际需要，以恢复公众信心，让人民相信警局扣留所没有滥权及拷打。星期六清晨梳邦再也警局发现一名日本藉男子吊死在扣留室的铁梁上，成为两个星期内第四宗扣留所命案。
随着扣留所命案一而再发生，这次甚至涉及外国人，马来西亚、警方、新任总警长丹斯卡立及内政部长拿督斯里阿末查希的国际形象及声誉已经受毁。
雪州副总警长拿督达威甘说，马大医院的尸体解剖报告指这名33岁的日本扣留者松下 伸広，死于上吊，身上无其它伤痕，无论死因是什么，警方必须交代清楚，为什么扣留所命案一再发生？为什么这些被扣留的嫌犯可以自杀或被死于应该保护他们的警方的手下？
还要发生多少宗命案，我们才可以遏止扣留所命案？只有可以成立独立警察投诉及行动不检委员会（IPCMC），我们才可以遏止不必要的扣留所命案，更令人伤心的是，我们必须等到日本扣留者死在扣留所内，国阵联邦政府才会有所行动。这已是过去两州内发生的第四宗扣留所命案，前三宗命案分别中：
• 淡边印裔卡鲁那于6月4日死于警局扣留所。
• 占姆斯于5月26日死于槟城警局扣留所；
• 达门登5月21日是死于吉隆坡警察总部扣留所，全身共有52处伤痕，
自2000年开始的扣留所命案达219宗，如果没有像独立警察投诉及行为不检委员会这样的防卫及预防机制，这个可怕的数据一定还会增加。国阵联邦政府实在没有理由拒绝成立这个监督警方的组织，这是2005年皇家调查委员会针对警方提出的建议。
马来西亚人对于一而再发生的扣留所命案感到惊讶，尽管国阵联邦政府部长们一再保证扣留所的安全性及保护措施。就连前总警长丹斯里慕沙哈山也说，他身为总警长时并没有反对IPCMC，条件是警方必须在IPCMC做出裁决后，拥有在法庭上诉的权利。
虽然一些扣留所命案可能是自然死亡，但是公众会继续怀疑警方的审问手法，除非警方不只是廉洁，也要看起来廉洁。公众已经对新任内政部长拿督斯里阿末查希失去希望，他不急着保护人权、遏止扣留所命案，也明显毫无兴趣打击罪案，而比较倾向使用严厉及打压手法，压制任何政治异见，保护国阵。.
唯有成立独立警察投诉及行为不检委员会这类透明及有公信力的机制，才能恢复公众信心，也可向公众保证扣留所内的被扣留者将会安全。否则，公众会不断地重复恶梦，担心他们亲爱的家人在扣留所内是否安全，他们甚至可以无法活着走出来。
林冠英