Penang’s fifth death in custody generates dismay

BUTTERWORTH, April 15 ― Penang’s fifth death in police custody since the start of the year has sparked calls for an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC)  to be set up to investigate the deaths.

Deputy Chief Minister II Professor  Dr P. Ramasamy said that while the number of deaths in custody have been piling up, his calls for an independent body to investigate the cases have fallen on deaf ears.

“We've been asking for the IPCMC to be set up to investigate these cases but it was ignored, and now, we have another death in custody,” he told a press conference at the DAP Perai service centre.

Today, he is highlighted the death of a 37-year-old odd job labourer, M. Murugan who had died while in custody on April 12.

Suspected of having prohibited drugs in his possession, Murugan was arrested on March 31. A day after his arrest, he was admitted to the Bukit Mertajam Hospital where he was warded for five days.

He was later transferred to the Seberang Jaya Hospital where he died without regaining consciousness.

His mother, P. Ramyee, 56 said a police officer was present during her hospital visit, so she did not get to speak to her son him much.

“The few times I spoke to him, he appeared confused and he could not remember what happened and at other times, he was unconscious,” she said.

Murugan's death certificate listed his cause of death as “severe sepsis secondary to pneumonia” but Ramasamy believed that Murugan had died due to injuries sustained while in custody.

“A doctor, who refused to be identified, said he had likely died of his injuries,” Ramasamy alleged.

He said Murugan's family had cremated Murugan the day after his death and that an inquest into his death would be hampered by the lack of evidence.

He showed pictures taken of Murugan, while he was alive in hospital about 10 days after he was admitted, and pointed out how he had bruises on his chest, hand, shoulder, thighs and ribs.

“We have a police force that is barbaric in nature. We make so much noise and hold press conferences about these killings in custody and yet it continues to happen, there is no accountability, no responsibility,” he said.

“These kind of cases put the police force to shame. We want the police to explain, this is terrible,” he said, calling the Home Minister Datuk Zahid Hamidi and the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar “thugs” for letting these incidents happen.

Murugan's death is the fifth custodial death case in Penang this year.

There were a total 13 reported custodial deaths nationwide last year and nine in 2012.

On February 10, A. Punniyanathan, 40, died while in custody at the Nibong Tebal lock-up.

 Ramasamy Nagu, 50, died at the Bayan Baru lock-up on March 1. Just a week after that, March 8, Kamarulnizam Ismail, 39, died in Tapah Prison just a day after he was brought there from the Bukit Mertajam lock-up. On  April 6, Koay Soon Guan, 41, was found dead in the Penang Prison.

Ramasamy said he will raise this issue of  deaths in custody in Penang in the next state executive council meeting.

“The state government could not do much but I will raise this in the meeting to find a way to look into this issue,” he said.