The Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) on the occasion of International Day Against Torture today reiterates the call for Malaysia to immediately ratify the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and to immediately establish the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

Whilst acknowledging that there are many forms of torture perpetrated by different parties, we focus our attention in this letter on the torture and deaths in Malaysian police custody.

The denial of healthcare and medication, as seen in the case of Lourdes Mary, the diabetic that collapsed in court with swollen leg by reason after not being given her insulin whilst being detained in a police lock-up is also torture.

With regard to deaths in police custody, it is indeed shocking that that over the years, the numbers have been increasing, and not decreasing. Relying merely on data provided by the government, it has been disclosed that there have been 150 deaths from 1990 until 2004, 108 deaths between 2000 and 2006 and 85 deaths between 2003 and 2007.

The Malaysian police’s tendency to lie, exemplified in the case when the Inspector-General of Police physically assaulted a handcuffed and blindfolded Anwar Ibrahim, must end. The initial reaction of the police was denial. Much later, it was proven that it was the head of police himself who had tortured the detainee.

In the case of 22-year-old Kugan Ananthan, who died on Jan 20 at the USJ Taipan police station, photos taken from the second post-mortem report showed that Kugan suffered from massive internal bleeding due to repeated beatings. There were also burn marks on the body of the victim.

Pathologists, doctors and public servants must act in the interest of justice and truth and stop coming out with reports that are meant to ‘protect’ the police. Reports that falsely give the impression that death was caused by reasons other than police actions and/or omissions mst cease.

In another reported case, 53-year-old, A Gnanapragasam, a wire man who was arrested on June 10, died a few days later in police custody. His widow, M Manimatalai, 40, said she suspected foul play as when she last met him on Friday, he had a bruise on his right eye.

In terms of torture, there have been too many incidences of torture in Malaysia and some examples are as follows:

• the case of a 27-year-old man and 18-year-old teenager being allegedly scalded with hot water at the Brickfields police district headquarters in December 2008,

• A current member of Parliament, a lawyer and a lay person accidentally “… saw a detainee being tortured by policemen at the Banting police headquarters last Friday. He claimed that the man, in his 20s, was gagged with white tape and his hands bound behind his back… the abuse had taken place during interrogation in a CID room…’

• When two female detainees were allegedly raped by police officers at the Ampang police lock-up.

• complaints from a trailer driver who was allegedly forced to drink his own urine and had crushed chilli rubbed onto his private parts while under detention at the Jasin police lock-up.

Getting suspects to confess is perceived as the main reason behind torture in police custody but Malaysia has amended the Criminal Procedure Code that does not allow the prosecution to use statements made by accused during the course of a police investigation.

Despite, the fact that this law has been in force since 2007, we note sadly that there are still allegations of police torturing persons in their custody.

The police have apparently also installed close-circuit television (CCTV) systems in police stations, but alas without recording capabilities, they are not of much use.

Madpet calls for CCTV with audio/video recording capabilities to be installed at all police stations and other places to help end torture by the police. In Hong Kong, as a matter of right, copies of video recordings of the accused in police custody are given to the lawyer to prove that there was no torture and that all was done in accordance with the law.

Malaysia should emulate this. Madpet reiterates its call for a torture-free Malaysia

The writer represents Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet).

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