Coroner: No criminal elements in the 2012 killing of three by police in Cheras

KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 — Coroner Mahyub Talib has found no criminal elements in the killing of three men following a police shootout in Cheras in 2012.

She said based on inquest findings, the police could not be found to have done anything wrong in shooting the three individuals — two brothers, Noor Azman Othman, 39, and Aidi Noor Hafizal Othman, 23, and a friend, Saufi Ahmad, 23 — on April 14, 2012.

“The coroner found that no one is involved criminally in their deaths,” she said as she announced the results of the inquest at the Sessions Court here today.

The trio were shot dead at the Taman Billion roundabout in the early hours of April 14, 2012 by the police who claimed that one of the suspects fired shots at them first from a car.

Later, the police said the three men were suspects in a gold shop robbery in Shah Alam.

Throughout the inquest, which began in 2018, the court heard that there was no conclusive evidence including DNA from all three suspects on the gun allegedly used to shoot in the direction of the police.

Mahyun stressed that the inquest is not a trial and the credibility of the witness is not considered as the court has to make its decision based on the facts of the case instead of any probability.

“In a previous (precedent) case, the High Court stated that the credibility of the witness should not be touched upon as the inquest is not a trial.

“However, the magistrate or coroner decides based on the report and facts of the case and can’t decide on the probability that was not in the case,” she said.

The families of the three men who were present today were visibly angered and disappointed by the coroner’s decision.

Meanwhile, Lawyers For Liberty (LFL) lawyer Zaid Malek, who is representing the families, said that the decision by the coroner may be due to the inquest’s timeframe.

However, he said he will consult the families of the victims before deciding whether to bring the case before the High Court.

“I will have to wait and study the full report by the court of inquest first.

“For further action, I need to discuss with the families (of the victims) on what course of action should be taken next,” he told Malay Mail after the decision.

On May 17, 2013, LFL lawyer N. Surendran, who was then PKR vice-president, claimed that the three men were killed by the police after their autopsy reports were released.

He claimed that the autopsy report showed that Azman was shot while he was on his knees.

“The autopsy report found that the bullet the victim was shot with was not shot from the front, but the position of the bullet indicates that it came from the top down, and right to left.”

“Azman was shot eight times while Aidi was shot 11 times.

“The police version was a lie. If truly there was a shootout, the bullets should have come from the front, not from top down,” said Surendren in a press conference at the PKR headquarters.

Surendran also claimed that the autopsy report also found that Azman suffered injuries to his head and forehead as well as on his body, indicating that there was a struggle.