Home minister Hamzah Zainudin said it will be called the Custodial Death Crime Investigation Unit and will be parked under Bukit Aman’s Department of Integrity and Standards Compliance.

He said the unit will take over all investigations on custodial deaths, which are normally conducted by the police, which also include personnel on duty at the stations where these incidents occurred.

The unit will comprise 12 police officers and headed by a police superintendent and will include a civilian staff member.

“The investigations will focus on criminal elements, identification of subjects, negligence of police officers and adherence to SOPs as well as orders issued to the officers.

“This shows that the government listens to the people’s concerns on custodial deaths and is committed to improving the image of our police,” Hamzah told reporters after launching an event at the Malaysian Police Training Centre in Kuala Lumpur today.

He denied that there were racial elements in custodial deaths, saying that from 2015 until now, 82 deaths in lock-ups have been reported, with the victims comprising 42 Malays, 13 Chinese, 15 Indians and 12 foreigners.

“The issue of custodial deaths does not impact one particular race or gender, which is often claimed by certain parties,” he said.

In a related matter, Hamzah said he will discuss with the health ministry the idea of appointing private panel doctors where detainees will be screened before they are placed in custody.

“Currently, they can be examined only by medical officers from the health ministry and this causes delays because of the high number of detainees,” he said.