After husband shot by cops, widow urges independent probe

IPOH, Dec 20 — The widow of a man shot by Perak police in Air Kuning, Tapah last May urged today for an independent investigation into the shooting that killed her 41-year-old husband.

R. Vaijentimala, 41, wanted a murder investigation launched into what she believed to be the wrongful shooting of her husband M. Marimuthu on May 24 2017.

To this end, she lodged a police report at the Ipoh police district headquarters earlier today, accompanied by her family and her lawyers N.Surendran and Latheefa Koya.

Surendran said that the family’s questions were based around the trajectory of the bullets which entered Marimuthu’s body.

He claimed the official post-mortem report contradicted Perak police chief Datuk Hasnan Hassan’s account of the shooting.

“Hasnan was quoted in the press saying that the suspect exited his car and fired at police, who then retaliated by shooting him twice in the chest,” he told reporters outside police headquarters.

“However, the post mortem report states that one of the bullets entered his body at a downward 40 degrees angle.”

“This indicates that he was shot from above, which contradicts the police statement,” he added.

Lawyer N. Surendran (centre) said that the family’s questions were based around the trajectory of the bullets which entered Marimuthu’s body. On his right is Vaijentimala.

Besides an independent and transparent probe, Surendran said Vaijentimala also wanted all the officers involved in the shooting to be temporarily suspended.

“I urge the police and the Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to explain these discrepancies. This is a serious matter and we are talking about human lives here,” he added.

In previous reports, Hasnan said the suspect had been hailed down by police because his car was using false number plates.

He said the suspect was on the most-wanted list, led the “Geng Pam” group, and had seven previous criminal records from  2006 till 2013 — involving robbery, murder and vehicle theft.

Meanwhile, an emotional Vaijentimala pleaded for justice, as Marimuthu’s shooting had placed her nine-month old daughter and herself in a desperate situation.

“My husband was a family man who ran a transportation business. He was always on the go, so I don’t understand why police couldn’t detect him before this if he was on the wanted list,” she said.

Surendran said he was also considering filing a civil suit on the matter in the future, but stressed the priority was getting justice for the family.