Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy said the criminal investigation unit on deaths in custody was taking too long to carry out their investigations into the cases.

“In our opinion, it is time for IPCC to take over investigations into custodial deaths to verify if the commission can uphold effectiveness, transparency, and fairness,”he said in a statement.

The IPCC, an independent oversight commission for police conduct, was established pursuant to the IPCC bill passed by the Dewan Rakyat on July 26.

Sevan said that within the first quarter of 2022, 14 deaths in custody were reported but the criminal investigation unit on deaths in custody, formed under Bukit Aman’s integrity and standards compliance department, had yet to provide any update on its investigations into the cases.

He also said a meeting with the integrity and standards compliance department to discuss the custodial deaths had yet to take place despite many requests from civil society organisations since February.

He claimed that criminal investigation unit on deaths in custody also failed to assure Malaysians that its investigations were done independently and free from influence and pressure from the top brass in the police force.

“We reiterate that mandatory inquests must be done immediately on all custodial deaths to avoid the tampering of evidence,” he said.

The 20th death in custody involved a 33-year-old man, who was found lying unconscious in his cell at about 5am and was confirmed dead by a medical officer from Hospital Shah Alam 20 minutes later.

The man had been arrested under the Dangerous Drugs Act on July 29 and placed in lockup while investigations were being carried out.

The case has been classified as one of sudden death and an autopsy was scheduled to be held today.