Group slams Saifuddin for concluding custodial deaths not caused by cops

THE home minister’s assertion that there has been no deaths in police custody caused by the authorities since he took over the office must be backed with facts, said a rights group today.

Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) said the Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail must not prematurely conclude that the police are not criminally liable for the deaths in custody.

“We do not want to simply know what the police, the minister or the detaining authorities concluded with regards to deaths in custody. 

“We want to know what the coroner decided after an inquest on the cause of death, and whether anyone is criminally liable for the death. Even coroners can get it wrong,” said Madpet representative Charles Hector in a statement.

Lawyer-cum-activist Hector was referring to Saifuddin’s speech in parliament yesterday where he said all the deaths recorded in prisons, police lockups and Immigration Department depots since 2022 were related to health issues.

The minister said there were 24 deaths recorded at police lockups between 2022 and May this year, while 40 inmates had died in prisons.

“The deaths in police lockups were due to health issues such as Covid-19, tuberculosis, heart attack and pneumonia. There were no cases of suicide or death due to injuries inflicted by the police.

“They involved a range of health problems. Most of the cases involved drug addicts who were detained in lockups,” Saifuddin had said in his winding-up speech on Suhakam’s annual report.

Hector, however, said Madpet was “appalled at the audacity” of Saifuddin to make such a statement, asking if all the coroner’s inquiries into deaths in custody had been completed. 

“Is he relying on police or detaining authorities investigations, when at the very least he should be saying such things after the coroner makes known his/her findings?

“The police may not beat or torture a detainee to death, but they may still be held to be criminally liable for the death. 

“The failure to monitor the person in detention, and the failure to ensure healthcare of the person in custody makes the police officer criminally liable for the death of a detainee,” he said.

Hector also called on the government to appoint full-time coroners to handle such cases as at present, magistrates will have to double up as coroners when they have their own court matters to handle.

“The idea of establishing a Coroners Department should be considered, and probably a coroners court. A new law may need to be enacted for this,” he said. – July 2, 2024.