COMMENT | The Malaysian Bar is appalled that two more men have died while in police custody, within the space of merely a few weeks.

Nizam Idris, 39, was found hanged in the Selama police station lock-up on March 17, 2018. Selama district police chief Deputy Superintendent Loo Lian Lay said that the Royal Malaysia Police’s Integrity and Standards Compliance Department (Jabatan Integriti dan Pematuhan Standard, “JIPS”) was investigating Nizam Idris’s death to establish if the police officers on duty had been negligent, and that the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (“EAIC”) was also conducting an investigation.

In the second case, Thanabalan Subramaniam, 38, was pronounced dead at Shah Alam Hospital on April 17, 2018, after having been found unconscious at the Shah Alam central lock-up — where he had been detained for some 20 days. Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah stated that Thanabalan Subramaniam had shown symptoms of fever, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and lack of appetite for four days before he died. It appears that Thanabalan might not have received adequate medical attention at the onset of his illness.

These deaths may well have been prevented if the police officers on duty had been more diligent in their duty to ensure the safety and well-being of the detainees entrusted to their care...