'His death will not be in vain'
Malaysiakini TeamPublished: Jan 28, 2009 1:14 PM | Updated: Jan 28, 2009 1:18 PM
The burial ceremony of Kugan Ananthan which took place at the Puchong Batu 14 Hindu cemetery this afternoon was an emotional one for his family.
The 22-year-old man had died in police custody last Tuesday. He was arrested on Jan 15 for allegedly being involved in a luxury vehicle stealing syndicate.
The burial ceremony of Kugan Ananthan which took place at the Puchong Batu 14 Hindu cemetery this afternoon was an emotional one for his family.
The 22-year-old man had died in police custody last Tuesday. He was arrested on Jan 15 for allegedly being involved in a luxury vehicle stealing syndicate.
His funeral procession from the University Malaya Medical Centre attracted about 500 people who took part in a convoy from the hospital to the cemetery, located some 20 kilometres away.
And at the cemetery, about 1,000 had gathered to pay their last respects. Among them were several politicians.
Below are some excerpts from these politicians.
P Ramasamy, Penang Deputy Chief Minister (II) and Batu Kawan MP
If he (Kugan) was a thief, he should be brought to court for the offence... we have High Courts and we have a Federal Court and yet the police act as they like.
On the other hand the police tell us to not take matters into our own hands and to rely on the law... but this boy was killed.
It does not matter if it was a Malay, Chinese or Indian person... this is not a race issue. He (Kugan) was a Malaysian and a human being.
I hope this does not repeat and the Home Minister should take responsibility or else resign... as well as Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan and Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar.
This issue will be brought to Parliament... because it could happen to my son or anybody's relative.
R Sivarasa, Subang member of parliament
We want to see prosecution of everybody who was directly and indirectly responsible for the death of Kugan and nothing short of that. This is why we feel that the police investigation is not enough and there must be a royal commission to stop the phenomenon of deaths in custody.
Kugan's death must be the last and we hope his death will not be in vain... as we have said so many times in the past, this demonstrates a need of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconducts Commission (IPCMC).
Not just any kind of IPCMC, but a credible independent commission... so let's see if the bill that is going to be introduced in February or March is up to that standard.
S Manikavasagam, Kapar member of parliament
We are lodging a police report against Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar tomorrow at Brickfields police station to prove that he has lied to the public.
We have a full video of the night when the family first came to the mortuary to see the body where we did not barge in at all.
N Surendran, human rights lawyer and Kugan family lawyer
This afternoon, the authorities did not even allow the family members and the lawyers to come into the mortuary to claim the body. The hospital guards who were in charge over there told us 'tunggu arahan dari atas' (wait for the instruction).
The entire Federal Reserve Unit and Light Strike Force personnel were lining up in front of the door and the police have caused all of these problems from the beginning.
I also had earlier refuted a report saying that Kugan's death was caused by asthma. But I'm stressing that the second pathologist did not mention anything about asthma and we all should let them release the full report first.
For the second post-mortem, the pathologist was appointed by the family as it was privately done through public donations. After the full, proper, professional report is out, we will certainly give it to the authority.
Dr Xavier Jayakumar, Sri Andalas state assemblyperson
Something is wrong with the system if people are dying in policy custody. On this case, there must be a public inquiry to seek justice for Kugan.
But we have to remember that this is not only an Indian issue, but it's an issue concerning everyone.
KK Eswaran, Malaysian Association of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MAICCI) president
I think the first thing to do is to think about the family of the boy who died (Kugan). Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar must make sure that the matter is properly investigated and he must take action.
The credibility of the police who are there to protect the public is at stake. Taking the statements of the deputy ministers (who entered the morgue at Serdang Hospital) should not be the priority of the Home Minister. It is uncalled for.
Instead those responsible for the death of Kugan must be brought to justice. Anyone who has a child wants to know how did it happen? Kugan's family have the right to know as soon as possible.
The 22-year-old man had died in police custody last Tuesday. He was arrested on Jan 15 for allegedly being involved in a luxury vehicle stealing syndicate.
His funeral procession from the University Malaya Medical Centre attracted about 500 people who took part in a convoy from the hospital to the cemetery, located some 20 kilometres away.And at the cemetery, about 1,000 had gathered to pay their last respects. Among them were several politicians.
Below are some excerpts from these politicians.
P Ramasamy, Penang Deputy Chief Minister (II) and Batu Kawan MP
If he (Kugan) was a thief, he should be brought to court for the offence... we have High Courts and we have a Federal Court and yet the police act as they like.
On the other hand the police tell us to not take matters into our own hands and to rely on the law... but this boy was killed.It does not matter if it was a Malay, Chinese or Indian person... this is not a race issue. He (Kugan) was a Malaysian and a human being.
I hope this does not repeat and the Home Minister should take responsibility or else resign... as well as Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan and Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar.
This issue will be brought to Parliament... because it could happen to my son or anybody's relative.
R Sivarasa, Subang member of parliament
We want to see prosecution of everybody who was directly and indirectly responsible for the death of Kugan and nothing short of that. This is why we feel that the police investigation is not enough and there must be a royal commission to stop the phenomenon of deaths in custody.
Kugan's death must be the last and we hope his death will not be in vain... as we have said so many times in the past, this demonstrates a need of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconducts Commission (IPCMC).
Not just any kind of IPCMC, but a credible independent commission... so let's see if the bill that is going to be introduced in February or March is up to that standard.
S Manikavasagam, Kapar member of parliament
We are lodging a police report against Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar tomorrow at Brickfields police station to prove that he has lied to the public.We have a full video of the night when the family first came to the mortuary to see the body where we did not barge in at all.
N Surendran, human rights lawyer and Kugan family lawyer
This afternoon, the authorities did not even allow the family members and the lawyers to come into the mortuary to claim the body. The hospital guards who were in charge over there told us 'tunggu arahan dari atas' (wait for the instruction).
The entire Federal Reserve Unit and Light Strike Force personnel were lining up in front of the door and the police have caused all of these problems from the beginning.
I also had earlier refuted a report saying that Kugan's death was caused by asthma. But I'm stressing that the second pathologist did not mention anything about asthma and we all should let them release the full report first.For the second post-mortem, the pathologist was appointed by the family as it was privately done through public donations. After the full, proper, professional report is out, we will certainly give it to the authority.
Dr Xavier Jayakumar, Sri Andalas state assemblyperson
Something is wrong with the system if people are dying in policy custody. On this case, there must be a public inquiry to seek justice for Kugan.
But we have to remember that this is not only an Indian issue, but it's an issue concerning everyone.
KK Eswaran, Malaysian Association of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MAICCI) president
I think the first thing to do is to think about the family of the boy who died (Kugan). Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar must make sure that the matter is properly investigated and he must take action.The credibility of the police who are there to protect the public is at stake. Taking the statements of the deputy ministers (who entered the morgue at Serdang Hospital) should not be the priority of the Home Minister. It is uncalled for.
Instead those responsible for the death of Kugan must be brought to justice. Anyone who has a child wants to know how did it happen? Kugan's family have the right to know as soon as possible.
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