A perusal of recent incidents where people have been shot dead instead of being arrested as required, discloses that the police officers involved were not the normal police units, which normally patrol in marked police cars with two people or on motorcycle patrol units.
Rather, they were ‘special teams’, sometimes involving police officers from outside the relevant police district.
This raises questions whether these shooting incidents were chance encounters by normal police patrols or not.
In some of the more recent extrajudicial killings, according to reports, none of the alleged suspects were shot and arrested. These reports are as follows:
- In a 20 August incident, one person was shot dead at the entry to the Sungai Balak toll booth on the Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway (Silk) near Kajang, Selangor. It was a Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation team
- In a 14 June incident, two people were killed in Johor Bahru, and it was a joint federal-state police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) team, consisting of operatives from the Organised Crime Investigation Division (D14) and Serious Crimes Division (D9)
- On 1 June, two people were shot dead at the 396.5km point of the North-South Highway at the Tanjung Malim layby in Perak. A team of police officers from Bukit Aman CID and the CID from the Perak Police contingent headquarters was involved
- In a 29 March incident, five people were shot dead in Putra Heights, Kuala Lumpur, and it was a police team that was involved
One common thread that emerges was that [the police involved] were not ‘normal’ police officers but they were ‘special teams’: a Bukit Aman criminal investigation team; a joint federal-state police CID team, consisting of operatives from the D14 and D9; and Bukit Aman CID together with the CID from the Perak Police contingent headquarters.
Such ‘special teams’ normally will not be involved in normal police patrols, but are usually deployed for a very specific purpose.
The story or the police narrative is too similar in cases where the police have shot dead suspects, following a story that some suspicious vehicle failed to stop despite being asked to by the police, the occupant(s) allegedly opened fire and the police shot back and the suspects were killed. No one in such encounters with the police gets shot and arrested alive or just arrested unhurt.
- Sign up for Aliran's free daily email updates or weekly newsletters or both
- Make a one-off donation to Persatuan Aliran Kesedaran Negara, CIMB a/c 8004240948
- Make a regular pledge or periodic auto-donation to Aliran
- Become an Aliran member
Another similarity that emerges is the story that the deceased victims are ‘bad people’ and have committed crimes. Remember, in Malaysia, only the courts decide on guilt or innocence and the sentence.
This trend raises serious questions about our police force. Were the encounters with these suspects coincidental or planned? What is of concern is also whether there was any intention to arrest at all? Did the police follow the law?
Malaysian law clearly states that the police must arrest suspects and cannot kill. If the police encounters result in deaths, then the police officers responsible should be charged in court for murder or culpable homicide. Only the courts will decide whether any defence the police may have will succeed.
We also do not then hear the result of the coroners’ inquiries and news that the police officers responsible have been investigated and charged in court for these killings – which are extrajudicial killings.
What is happening affects the public perception of the police force. The problem lies in the lack of transparency and news of actions against those police officers involved in these killings. Disciplinary action only is not enough – charge them in court.
Note that “An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification for extra-legal, arbitrary or summary executions”. (UN principles on the effective prevention and investigation of extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions). A police officer ordered to shoot to kill, not arrest, must and can defy orders from superiors.
In cases of custodial torture, the Court of Appeal said this: “When a police officer, be he of whatever rank, is found guilty of assaulting a member of the public and more so of an arrested person as in this case, the courts should send a message of the public abhorrence of such acts – by coming down hard on him and nothing short of a custodial sentence, even for a first offender, would suffice.” (Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor v PP). The same applies to police officers involved in extrajudicial killings.
Madpet calls on the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), Parliament or an independent royal commissions of inquiry to look into these extrajudicial killings by police in depth to dispel concerns of pre-planned ‘killings’ (with no intention to arrest), abuse of power or other unlawfulness.
Madpet calls on the government to prohibit by law all extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions and to ensure that any such executions are recognised as offences under its criminal laws, and are punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account the seriousness of such offences, as per the UN principles on the effective prevention and investigation of extra-legal, arbitrary and summary execute ions.
Madpet reiterates the concerns and calls in the 18 groups’ joint statement on 19 August entitled “Criminalise extrajudicial killing, and charge law enforcement officers involved in the killing in court, for it is the court that decides guilt and whether any defence including self-defence will succeed”.
The police and law enforcement must follow the law, and should not torture or kill anyone. Malaysia must have clean and law-abiding law enforcement.
Charles Hector issued this statement on behalf of Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture.
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
