Public trust at stake, Kulasegaran urges swift murder probe into shooting
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M Kulasegaran urged the authorities to expedite their investigation into the Durian Tunggal police shooting, as public trust in enforcement agencies is at stake.
While welcoming the case reclassification as murder by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and inspector-general of police (IGP), Kulasegaran also asked why the case was not investigated as such from the start.
“(The reclassification) reflects...
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M Kulasegaran urged the authorities to expedite their investigation into the Durian Tunggal police shooting, as public trust in enforcement agencies is at stake.
While welcoming the case reclassification as murder by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and inspector-general of police (IGP), Kulasegaran also asked why the case was not investigated as such from the start.
“(The reclassification) reflects a commitment to transparency in the investigation and is important in strengthening public confidence in due process and the rule of law.
“Nevertheless, both statements (from AGC and IGP) raise an important question: under what provision was the investigation originally classified, and why was a murder investigation not initiated at the outset?
“While the reclassification is welcomed, public trust in our institutions can only be maintained if the investigation is conducted swiftly and thoroughly,” he said in a statement today.
Kulasegaran (above, centre) also said the call to expedite the investigation is to ensure relevant evidence and witness accounts are obtained while they are still fresh.
He added that the manner of the investigation and its eventual outcome will have wide-ranging implications for public trust in the professionalism of the authorities.
“Particularly, the willingness to take action against those in authority, as well as the capacity of our institutions to safeguard the rights and dignity of the vulnerable.
“The families of those who were shot must be given assurance and confidence that the investigation will get to the crux of the incident.
“As emphasised by the IGP, there can be no compromise when it comes to misconduct (as well as unlawful action), by anyone,” said Kulasegaran.
Reclassified as murder
The AGC, in a statement yesterday, said it had directed the investigation to be reclassified as murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code after perusing the police’s briefing and recommendations.
“The chambers’ preliminary review found that several further actions still need to be taken by the police to complete the investigation before any final decision can be made,” said the AGC’s statement.
On the same day, IGP Khalid Ismail said the police are committed to ensuring that the investigation is conducted transparently and in accordance with the law.
On Nov 24, the police shot and killed three men, aged between 24 and 29, after one of them allegedly attacked a police officer with a machete in an oil palm plantation in Durian Tunggal.
Malacca police chief Dzulkhair Mukhtar defended his team’s actions, alleging that the incident caused a corporal, in his early 30s, to suffer severe injuries to his left arm.
However, lawyers representing the men’s families rejected the police’s version of events, arguing that an alleged voice recording of the incident showed they had been in custody for some time before they were killed.
One of the families’ lawyers, Rajesh Nagarajan, had urged authorities to charge the implicated police personnel with murder.
