Its president, Anil Netto, speaking at a Teoh Beng Hock forum in Penang, criticised the widespread excuse of “CCTV malfunction” whenever allegations of custodial abuse arose, and said officers involved in custodial deaths must be held accountable.
Calling the excuse unacceptable, he said: “If the CCTV isn’t working, the officer in charge must be held accountable. There should be disciplinary consequences. This kind of professionalism is crucial to changing the culture of enforcement in this country.”
He proposed the adoption of three internationally-recognised standards and independent oversight mechanisms; The Mendez principles of effective interviewing, the establishment of an independent inspector of prisons and detention centres, and ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Torture.
Netto said the Mendez principles, an international standard named after a former UN special rapporteur on torture, called for non-coercive, strategic, and rights-based interviewing techniques.
Investigators should enter interviews having already done the necessary groundwork. They should treat suspects as innocent until proven guilty, and ensure they are granted the right to remain silent and to access legal representation.
“All interviews and interrogations should be audio-visually recorded,” he said during his speech at the forum, the first in a series in the nationwide “No Further Action” tour to press for action over the death in custody of Selangor political aide Teoh Beng Hock in 2009.
Teoh was found dead at Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam, after being questioned for several hours by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers at the Selangor headquarters. He was reported to have fallen from the fifth floor.
“With these three reforms, it will go a long way to prevent any more cases like this,” said Netto.
He said people were held without trial in nearly 90 custodial sites throughout the country, including prisons, immigration detention centres and MACC offices. Those held — including those on trial, and undocumented migrants – were often hidden from public scrutiny, he said.
“An independent inspectorate could ensure that detainees’ living conditions, diets, access to legal counsel, and treatment meet basic human rights standards,” he said. The inspectorate should not only protect detainees but also monitor the welfare of prison staff, who may themselves be working under highly stressed conditions.
Netto recommended that this body report directly to Parliament or a parliamentary select committee, with regular reports tabled and made public. Similar models already existed in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland, he said.
On the ratification of the UN convention, which Malaysia signed in 2015, Netto said many other countries with similar legal systems and security challenges have already ratified the treaty. “The convention forbids extreme pain and torture while in detention or anywhere else,” he said.
Netto added that the reforms proposed were not radical, but the bare minimum for a civilised, reform-minded government.