“The home ministry takes these deaths in police custody seriously and will ensure it is thoroughly investigated,” The Star quoted him as saying.

Three detainees have died in police custody since the year began.

On Jan 18, detainee Soh Kai Chiok was found dead at the Bera police station. On Feb 8, S Balamurugan was found dead in the North Klang police lockup, and on Feb 25, M Thanaseelan was found dead in his cell at the Bukit Sentosa lockup in Hulu Selangor.

It was alleged that Balamurugan was beaten by police, and when he was presented before the court, the magistrate ordered the investigating officer to free Balamurugan and send him to hospital. The police however failed to do this.

In the case of Thanaseelan, a post-mortem revealed that he died from blood poisoning due to a perforated ulcer. Family members claim he might be alive if police had sent him to the hospital earlier.

Malaysians have criticised the police over the latest incidents of death in police custody. Human rights groups are appalled that deaths in custody continue to occur every year despite assurances by the authorities that they won’t.

The Malaysian Bar and others have called on the government to establish an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

The IPCMC was first proposed by the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police in its report in 2005 but the government has not implemented it as yet.

Both Suhakam and the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) have said they will investigate the recent deaths in custody.

“The EAIC views this incident seriously, which happened following two deaths in police custody: Soh Kai Chiok at IPD Bera, Pahang, on Jan 18, 2017 and S Balamurugan at IPD Klang Utara on Feb 8, 2017,” EAIC chairman Yaacob Md Sam said in a statement yesterday when revealing they had started investigating the death of Thanaseelan in police custody.