igp in deep waters

7/28/2019 IGP in deep waters

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Sun, 30 Jun 2013 15:45:00 GMT

IGP in deep waters

Khalid Abu Bakar has been singled out by the judge who gave his verdict on the civil suit

brought by A. Kugan’s family against him, the police force and the Government as having nottold the truth about how Kugan died while in police custody four years ago.

In street parlance, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) is in deep waters.

Khalid Abu Bakar has been singled out by the judge who gave his verdict on the civil suit brought by A.

Kugan’s family against him, the police force and the Government as having not told the truth about how

Kugan died while in police custody four years ago.

Khalid was then Selangor police chief. In his first statement to the media at the time, he said Kugan

collapsed and died after drinking water. In a subsequent statement, he said Kugan died of water in the

lungs.

When an independent post-mortem initiated by human rights lawyer N. Surendran found that Kugan had

suffered 45 external injuries and a wide range of internal injuries due to severe beatings, leading to his death

from acute renal failure, Khalid did not clarify why its findings contradicted glaringly what he had said to the

media.

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Senior federal counsel Azizan Md Arshad, in the civil suit hearing, agreed with the judge that Khalid should

have held a press conference to clarify the matter. “Only God knows (why this was not done),” Azizan is

reported to have also said.

Indeed. There is a world of difference between dying of injuries sustained from being beaten and dying of

water in the lungs.

RELATED LINK: Court rules police liable in detainee's death

At the hearing, Khalid testified that there was no cover-up in the investigations into Kugan’s death, and he

denied all the allegations against himself, the police force and the Government over what had happened to

Kugan.

However, judge V. T. Singham said in his ruling that there is sufficient evidence against Khalid for

misfeasance as a public officer. He said with absolute certainty, “No person in any position or rank, when

testifying in court, should take this court for granted and attempt to suppress the truth to escape liability.”

He also said, “The lies are not in the core print of the statutes book but in the integrity of the police officer,

whatever his rank.”

The import of these words is serious. They call into question the credibility and integrity of the country’s

highest-ranking police officer. How much faith can the Malaysian public now have in Khalid Abu Bakar?

What will the government that appointed him to this high position do now? Should it ignore the judge’s

comments and continue with business as usual? Let’s use an analogy. If, say, the head of a key department

of a company were declared by a court of law to have committed a breach of trust, what should the CEO of

the company do?

It already reflects badly on the Government for having selected someone who had some baggage to a

position that demands the highest integrity of its occupant. The Kugan case is, after all, no small matter. It is

a contentious case that has been hogging media attention for a long time.

Furthermore, in the case of Aminulrasyid Amzah, the 14-year-old schoolboy who was killed after having

been shot 21 times by police in 2010, a police report was lodged by the boy’s parents against Khalid alleging

a cover-up. Khalid has denied the allegation and also the claim that he had called the boy a criminal, but thesubsequent public perception of him has been negative. It doesn’t help any police officer’s reputation to be

confronted with cover-up allegations twice.

Besides, last April, the boy’s family took out a lawsuit against the police and the Government, naming Khalid

as one of the subsequent defendants. And to cap it all, under his current watch as IGP, two other men – N.

Dharmendran and P. Karuna Nithi – have recently died while being held in police custody.

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http://news.malaysia.msn.com/regional/court-rules-malaysia-police-liable-in-detainees-death





How now can the public have faith not only in the IGP, but also the police and the Government?

More than ever, the Government needs to set up an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct

Commission (IPCMC), as proposed by the Royal Commission of Inquiry of 2005, to bring about police

reform and keep watch on the conduct of police officers. Judge Singham himself categorically says there is

an urgent need for this. Most Malaysians would agree.

And yet Home Minister Zahid Hamidi is saying that the IPCMC would overlap with the Malaysian Anti-

Corruption Commission (MACC) and contradict the Extra Territorial Offences Act 1976 and Section 127a of

the Criminal Procedure Code.

This is mere pussyfooting. The IPCMC would be specifically looking at complaints against the police. If it

could encroach on the territory of the MACC, which is tasked with probing corruption, it would be in taking on

complaints against corrupt police officers. If this be the case, a provision could surely be made to relieve the

MACC of tackling police corruption and channelling this to the IPCMC instead. In fact, this might make thehandling of police corruption more efficient.

As for the other existing legal provisions, the Government is surely aware that it is capable of working things

out to circumvent this problem.

Zahid’s insistence that the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) that was set up instead of the

ICPMC would be enough to do the job is ridiculous when the CEO of the EAIC, Nor Afizah Hanum Mokhtar,

has recently disclosed that the Commission has only one investigating officer probing complaints against the

police, and its recommendations on action to be taken against errant cops so far may not even have been

implemented.

The real question we need to ask is, does the Government care enough to want to bring about police

reform? Does it care enough to ensure that citizens will be safe in police hands?

The lip service that the Government pays to this issue is supposed to give the impression that it cares. But

the problem is, truth coming from the halls of power these last few years has been in such short supply that

we can’t seem to trust whatever the Government says or does.

At this rate, unless the Government proves it is worthy of trust, we the rakyat may be the ones who’ll be

heading for deep waters.

* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling book No More Bullshit, Please, We’re All

Malaysians, and the latest volume, Ask for No Bullshit, Get Some More!

* Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily

represent the views of, and should not be attributed to MSN Malaysia

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8:25AM Jul 1, 2013

YOURSAY 'Why is the appeal done by the government, and not by the individual

accused of misuse and abuse of power in the Kugan case?'

Kugan trial: Gov't to appeal, says Zahid

Multi Racial: Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, what do you mean that the

government plans to appeal the A Kugan verdict in the civil suit?

They want to use taxpayers' money to save someone whom our well regarded High

Court judge found guilty of abetting Kugan's murder.

Now it gets more suspicious. Maybe inspector general of police (IGP)Khalid Abu

Bakar, who was the Selangor chief then, was also taking orders. Regardless, guilty is

still the verdict.

AnSoN: Why is the appeal done by the government and not by the individual

accused of misuse and abuse of power?

If Zahid says that he will not compromise on abuse of power, then why did he andthe government want to appeal? Doesn't this contradict what he said?

OMG: The minister should accept the court verdict, apologise to the Kugan family,

sack the IGP and all the guilty parties, make them pay for the judgment sum and setup the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC)

immediately.

Only then will he be able to save not only the PDRM (Royal Malaysia Police), but alsothe ruling elite from public contempt.

Kit P: The civil trial unearthed clear evidence of senior officers, other than the

accused, actively attempting to cover up events surrounding Kugan's death.

The system and the police chain of command is sick, and it is not just the work of one rogue police officer. N Dhamendran's alleged murder in a police cell just last

month shows nothing has really changed.

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http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/234395






Cala: Zahid, let's put you in the same position as Kugan's mother. What is the

grounds on which your appeal is based? Surely Kugan could not, while in the SubangJaya police' custody, have self-inflicted the 45 wounds, could he?

So my guess is that you are disputing that the current IGP Khalid Abu Bakar has

been named as the respondent in the case.

How could you when Khalid was actively dismissing the cause of Kugan's death all

along, as if he knew the state of his condition?

Kairos: Why can't the government accept that they are wrong for once? Such

responses and actions like what the home minister proposes are that makes therakyat so disappointed with the government.

Good governance includes humility to admit mistakes and failures. It takes courage

to do that. So far, all we see is a government that's arrogant and unwilling to acceptits shortcomings even though it is clear to everyone they have so many flaws.

In this case and in many other cases as well, what is there to appeal? Pay thecompensation. I'm sure the government can afford it.

Barnie Flintstone: Salutations to the venerable judge, VT Singham. You haveopened the flood gates with your decision - the rakyat knew that this childish

government would take action even against the dead.

Anonymous_VV: We sincerely hope the learnt judge writes his judgment in such away that all relevant facts are stated very clearly so that the higher courts will not so

easily reverse it.

The honourable judge came on very strongly in his judgment that the superior police

officers were protecting their subordinates and also call for the IPCMC to beimplemented.

This judgment has rattled the evil men in the force. He is a brave judge indeed.

James1067: Zahid, as you said, we shall wait and see if justice will really be served.

The case is not over yet, and in the end, the rakyat will form their own perception of

the judiciary.

Hello: Mr Home Minister, why don't you state further that the IGP shall resign if theappeals to the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court fail?

Also, that you will resign when your personal case of assault goes against you?

Show that you are a person of principles.

Pahatian: Zahid said that the court decision proved the perception that the courtwould always be in favour of the government was not true.

Then why the need to appeal? If you win the appeal, then the perception will indeed

become true, right? Where is your logic, Zahid?

SpongeBob: Errant cops and poor implementation of SOPs (standard operation

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procedures) will definitely create negative public perceptions. So why blame thepublic?

The onus is on your ministry and PDRM to maintain a good image at all times. The

public have eyes, ears and grey matter to form their own opinion.

Pemerhati: It looks like the illegal and illegitimate 47 percent government hasdecided to bring out its ‘kangaroos' and overturn the seemingly correct and fairverdict given by the learned judge who is known for his honesty, integrity and

fairness.

Many of the ‘kangaroos' that heard the Perak constitutional crisis case and turned

the law upside down (according to law expert Abdul Aziz Bari) to decide in favour of BN, were rewarded with promotions and now infest the appeals and higher courts.

They will do whatever BN tells them to do.

Dr Suresh Kumar: Zahid, instead of further aggravating the pain of the victim'smother, you should seek justice for the victim by charging the perpetrators who are

going about their lives as though nothing has happened, waiting to suck out the life

of the next victim.

Karma would not leave you in peace for your immoral actions.

Ex-IGP demands IPCMC after Kugan verdict

By Boo Su-Lyn

June 29, 2013

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KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 — Former national police chief Tan Sri Musa Hassan has

added his weight to pressure the government to introduce the Independent PoliceComplaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) after the current Inspector-General of

Police (IGP) was ruled responsible for a suspect’s death under custody.

In a landmark civil suit on Wednesday, the High Court here ruled that Tan Sri Khalid

Abu Bakar, at that time the Selangor police chief, was liable to misfeasance in A.Kugan’s death behind bars in 2009.

“You need monitoring, of course, on the police,” Musa (picture) told The Malay Mail

Online yesterday.

“But as I’ve said earlier, you need to do a bit of changes in the clauses of the IPCMC

because they don’t allow for appeal once a decision has been made by the IPCMC,” said

the former IGP.

High Court judge Datuk V.T. Singham was reported as saying that the injuries on Kugan,

a car thief suspect, could not have been inflicted by only one policeman with senior officers pleading ignorance.

The civil trial reportedly heard that Khalid told a press conference in 2009 that Kugan

had died because his lungs were filled with water.

A second autopsy, however, showed that Kugan had died of kidney failure after being

severely beaten and starved.

Former police constable V. Navindran, who was the only one charged over Kugan’s

death, was sentenced last year to three years’ jail for causing hurt to the 23-year-old.

Navindran is appealing the conviction.

English-language daily The Star also reported Singham as saying that the IPCMC needed

to be set up immediately to protect those who have been detained by the police.

The historic judgment comes after three policemen were charged recently with murdering

another suspect, N. Dhamendran, on May 21.

The 32-year-old former lorry driver had been held under remand in the Kuala Lumpur

police contingent headquarters over the shooting of two men in the capital city.

R. Sri Sanjeevan, chairman of crime watchdog MyWatch, said it was “high time for theIPCMC”.

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“Judge V.T. Singham called for the IPCMC,” Sanjeevan told The Malay Mail Online

recently.

“If a currently serving judge can say that, it’s so obvious that throughout the trial, theyhave seen a lot of police violence that occurred in Kugan’s case,” he added.

Malaysian Bar president Christopher Leong said the court verdict on Kugan’s death

highlighted the need for an “independent oversight and disciplinary body dedicated solely

for the police”.

“The EAIC should not be re-casted to deal with the police as it has too many other agencies within its purview,” Leong told The Malay Mail Online in a recent interview,

referring to the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC).

The EAIC was set up in 2011 to monitor complaints of abuse of power in the police force

and 18 other enforcement agencies. But the commission has often been criticised as a

“toothless” body for its lack of prosecutorial powers.

“There is... no good reason why decent, honest and hard-working police personnel should

fear the IPCMC,” the lawyer said.

“They should in fact welcome it. Only those who are prone to misconduct themselveswould fear the IPCMC,” Leong added.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, however, told Parliament last

Wednesday that the proposed IPCMC could not be implemented as it contradicted Article

7 of the Federal Constitution and the Extra-Territorial Offences Act 1976.

Leong denied the IPCMC would violate Article 7 of the Federal Constitution,

highlighting the provision only states “a person shall not be punished for an act or

omission which was not punishable by law when it was done or made.”

“The IPCMC does not create any new offences or new punishments,” he noted.

“The IPCMC is merely a new body and mechanism to independently investigate whether there has been breaches of existing laws and offences and, if so, to impose existing

punishments. Further, disciplinary action is different from criminal prosecution,” he said.

Nine deaths in police custody have occurred this year so far.

The last recorded is that of a 33-year-old Japanese man who died in his cell at the USJ8 police station lock-up in Subang Jaya on June 8.

Since 2006, the Bar Council and civil society have been pushing for the implementation

of the IPCMC, which was mooted by a royal commission led by former Chief Justice Tun

Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah.

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The police top brass has repeatedly shot down all calls for its setting up.

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/ex-igp-demands-

ipcmc-after-kugan-verdict#sthash.fRafOJZS.dpuf

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igp in deep waters

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