Bernama reported earlier today that a guard at the men’s lock-up of Bera IPD found the victim, Soh Kai Chiok, 49, unconsciousness and was pronounced dead at 12.15am yesterday.
According to Bera IPD chief DSP Mansor Samsudin, initial investigations showed the man’s death was not linked to any criminal elements based on the closed-circuit television (CCTV) recording.
“The outcome of any independent investigation must be made public,” Kula said in a statement released today.
“Why can’t there be zero deaths in custody?” asked the Ipoh Barat MP.
The Bernama report quoted Mansor as saying that the victim had been taken to the Triang Health Clinic and referred to the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Hospital in Temerloh on Tuesday.
“All lock-up procedures were adhered to, including giving the victim medication, food and drinks as well as seeing that he slept on time,” Mansor told Bernama.
Kula questioned the police allowing Soh to come back to the Bera IPD if he was seriously ill.
“The public are entitled to ask why Soh had become unconscious and died in the lock up.
“If he had fallen seriously ill, he should have been admitted to hospital,” Kula said.
Kula, who is also a lawyer, described this latest incident of custodial death as being part of a systemic problem.
“It’s not mere statistics. There should not be any custodial death at all,” he said.
For a long-term solution to the custodial death issue, Kula said a two-pronged approach was needed.
“Firstly, the changing of the police mindset, and secondly, the implementation of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).
Kula also recalled High Court judge Justice S Nantha Balan’s recent 86-page judgment on the custodial death of lorry driver P Chandran.
“Indeed, in a modern, matured and evolved constitutional democracy such as Malaysia, it is axiomatic and imperative there should be zero deaths of detainees in police custody,” Kula quoted the judge as saying.
The judge noted, based on the Human Rights Commission Report, that there was an average of 17 deaths per year involving detainees, between 2000-2014.