He proposed that the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) appoint a special prosecutor to start legal proceedings against police officers responsible for Balamurugan’s custodial death.
“This would ensure his family has fair and efficient access to the legal process,” he said.
He was commenting on EAIC’s report yesterday confirming that police were responsible for the death of Balamurugan last February.
The report confirmed the detainee died due to coronary artery disease with multiple force injuries.
It said police had failed to follow an order by the Magistrate’s Court to release Balamurugan, after a request to remand him was rejected.
The court had also ordered the police to seek medical assistance for Balamurugan.
The EAIC also requested the Attorney-General’s Chambers to prosecute two police officers responsible for the death but stopped short of specifying the charges.
Previous news reports have said 1,654 people have died in police custody from 2010 till February 2017.
Santiago, who is Klang MP, said Balamurugan’s death too cannot just become another statistic.
“Police officers cannot continue to be left off the hook.
“In this case, no appropriate medical facilities were provided to Balamurugan despite other inmates indicating to the police his weak health condition.
“And the police did not release Balamurugan as per the magistrate’s order. In short, they did not follow the standard operating procedure (SOP).
“This shows abuse of power and police high-handedness,” he said.
Therefore, he said Balamurugan’s death must be classified as murder and the errant police officers must be charged in court.
Kulasegaran: EAIC report is non-binding
DAP’s M Kulasegaran said he was disappointed as the EAIC’s verdict was non-binding and non-forceful.
He said the commission, set up in 2011, was established to stand up for righteousness and to complement the government.
“EAIC’s action is commendable. When it started, many did not think it would have the backbone to stand up for righteousness. They have done that and it is commendable.
“But, unfortunately, the opinion by EAIC is just a non-binding and non-forceful opinion.
“This is where it is just like another Suhakam. A toothless tiger,” he told FMT, referring to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia.
Kulasegaran, who is also a lawyer, said it was convenient for the government to use such organisations to blame the government machinery and “yet the machinery, including the police, are untouchable”.
This is because EAIC does not seem to have the bite to prosecute police officers, Kulasegaran said.
He recommended to the government to consider setting up the long-proposed Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to supervise and prosecute errant policemen.
He said EAIC looked into the misconduct of any government agency but a special body was needed to take action against the police force, which has more than 100,000 personnel.
“It has been 18 years since IPCMC was mooted. What is taking the government so long to look into it? From the replies given in the Dewan Rakyat, they claim police morale will be affected if a body was supervising them.
“But the police force is just like any other body and must realise that nobody is above the law.”
He said due to that, the sooner IPCMC was set up, the faster people will respect and have confidence in the force.
Code of silence in force
Lawyers for Liberty executive director and co-founder Eric Paulsen pointed out that policemen must not hesitate to testify against their colleagues.
“To convict someone, fellow police officers must be able to testify against their fellow colleagues.
“If there is a code of silence and police officers do not want to testify against other police officers, the person charged may be acquitted because all they need is to raise a reasonable doubt (in court),” he told FMT.
For deaths in police custody to end, he said police must change and speak up against any unlawful activities.
He added most of the deaths in custody were due to a breach in standard operating procedures (SOP), as seen in Balamurugan’s case.
“If the SOP is not followed, people are still going to die.”
Due to that, he said the government must take action against all those who failed to follow SOP.
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