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On 25 September 2020, 29 Indian men were arrested over a shooting incident near a secondary school in Banting. These Indian men were detained for 2 months without any charge under the Prevention of Crime Act 1959. According to a statement made by the Selangor Criminal Investigation Department (CID), these men were arrested following an operation named “Ops Blackjack”, having been suspected of being involved in gang activities and organized crime.
“Stereotypically, Indian Malaysians are often portrayed as the most vulnerable to death whilst in police detention,” — Malaysiakini
A viral video with more than a million views showed the alleged detainees wearing orange suits being roughed up in a circle by police officers, while one of the detainees was kicked in the head; the video was allegedly taken after a court session. The video also revealed one man who said he is scared to go back to the police station, as the police might force them to confess to the shooting crime that, he claims, they never committed. The Magistrate Court has already proved the men's innocence, and ordered PDRM (Royal Malaysia Police) to release them, but they refused.
There are conflicting reports provided by the government and the detainees behind the cells. Following this, the Malaysian Bar Council has urged for an immediate investigation to be executed to discover the veracity of such allegations. Prof. Dr. P. Ramasamy, a member of the Democratic Action Party, suspects that the detainees were arrested under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 and Prevention of Crime Act 1959 which allows for detention without a trial (DWT).
These controversial laws were introduced by Malaysia’s former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to tackle the terrorism issue in Malaysia. In spite of the intention to maintain the public order and tighten Malaysia’s security, this extremely harsh law was claimed to be unnecessary since it gives “arbitrary powers to the police that substantially erodes the right of an accused to a fair trial, and undermines the protections and fundamental liberties contained in the Federal Constitution.” Any suspect who’s detained under this detention without trial law is strictly prohibited to question the reason for their arrest, incarceration* and/or restriction in courts. Subsequently, the Malaysian Bar Council has asserted this piece of law as having destroyed the right of an accused person to a fair trial.
“The principle that everyone should be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law must be respected.” — Charles Hector Fernandez
The Malaysian authority is allowed to remand a person in custody for a period of 21 days under subsection 4 (1)(a) of Prevention of Crime Act 1959 However, if an officer believes the arrested individual is guilty, he or she must produce a written statement to the Magistrate court. If the officer fails to produce any statement and there are no other grounds on which the person is lawfully detained, it is obligatory for the officers to release them. Even so, an official statement from Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), claims that the PDRM is abusing the remand process by continuing to detain prisoners when they were supposed to be released.
Deaths in custody
According to an analysis made by human rights group Malaysiakini and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), the majority of custodial death publicized in the media is attributed to Indians. The same analysis also found that an abundant number of underreporting involved Malays. However, there’s inconsistency in the data regarding the actual number of official cases compared to the number of publicized cases. (The analysis is available here)
“Only about one in four cases of deaths in police custody become public knowledge, while the rest go largely unnoticed.” — Malaysiakini
A list of some of the victims of police assault and brutality:
In 2000, How Soon Hock, a robbery suspect, was shot in his right eye during a brutal game of Russian roulette. The police also electrocuted and beat the soles of his feet. This barbaric incident took place during an interrogation. The court verdict: The police were dismissed, and only needed to pay RM10k for compensation.
In 2015, a 15-year old boy named Aminulrasyid Amzah was fatally shot 22 times in an attempt to stop the car driven by an underage boy. This so-called police negligence was dismissed of all charges after an appeal.
In 2017, Chandran Muniandy incurred several physical injuries while he was in jail for causing hurt with a dangerous weapon. He informed his mother that he had been beaten leading to a cracked skull and his toenails were pulled off. The Officer-in-Charge of Police District (OCPD) claimed he fell in a toilet and the toenails were removed due to skin disease. The case was given NFA (no further action) status.
Draconian law
Additionally, police brutality enables and encourages police brutality through "draconian" law. Malaysians obey such laws that violate the universal principle of human rights; these "draconian" laws encompass The Special Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 and Prevention of Crime Act 1959. While these procedural laws may seem critically important in the fight to combat terrorism, organized crime, human trafficking, and advocating for democracy, detainees are often met with injustice. This law is considered draconian because of the maltreatment, abuse, bullying, and superfluous threatening during custody.
The tyranny of Malaysian police is evident, given the 355 custodial deaths reported in less than a year. The PDRM, Immigration Department, and Prison Department insist they will take extra measures to monitor the health of detainees, claiming the deaths are likely disease-driven.
credit: Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) Twitter
Following this, Msolidariti (an activist group) demanded more transparency about what’s going on behind the cells. Full police transparency requires the tabling of the IPCMC bill. The Independent Police Complaints of Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) bill refers to an establishment of an independent commission to investigate officers who are accused of breaching the code of conduct while on duty. Under this bill, the disciplinary action would be taken by 10 members appointed by YDPA (Malaysia’s King). This bill holds the power to punish officers, unlike the current IPCC (Independent Police Conduct Commission) bill.
The problematic part is that the IPCMC bill was initially tabled in parliament in July 2019, but was never passed because of a political coup and strong backlash from the police. In response to this, the IPCC bill was gazetted to replace the IPCMC bill so that investigations can be conducted against officers. However, it lacks the power to impose disciplinary action in response to police misconduct.
Activists are calling for the public to place pressure on governments, hoping to revoke the lacking IPCC bill and replace it with the IPCMC bill. They fear the public's silence could lead to more deaths behind bars.
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