http://dapmalaysia.org
Forward
Feedback
Public interest demands an
independent commission of inquiry into the botched murder trials in the
past three years cause by sloppy police investigation and prosecution to
restore public confidence in the system of justice
______________ (Parliament, Friday) : Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan has ordered an inquiry into the botched investigation of the murder of a 21-year-old in 2003 which led to the case being thrown out of court on Wednesday. Judge Datuk V.T. Lingam of the Ipoh High Court made very scathing comments on the prosecution’s “miserable” failure to establish a prima facie case against the five men charged with the killing of engineering student Mohd Hosni Fadzil Mohd Amin, and questioned the police’s sense of urgency and sloppy investigation as the delay resulted in material gaps in the prosecution’s case as crucial evidence may have been removed, destroyed or tampered with. Federal Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Christopher Wan Soo Kee, who is to head the police inquiry, admitted to “weaknesses” in the case which he said were unacceptable. This is not the first case where the police and prosecution had been chastised by judges for sloppy investigation and prosecution, resulting in high-profile criminal cases being thrown out of court even before the accused is called to make his defence. There had been quite a spate of such embarrassing cases recently, most notably:
Malaysians still remember that after the highly embarrassing case of the Fu Xian Juang murder trial being thrown out of court without defence being called, the Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail announced that there would be a slew of drastic proposals to ensure that when the prosecution team steps into the courtroom, they are better prepared. Clearly these slew of drastic proposals to end sloppy prosecution had not worked. Public confidence in the professionalism and integrity of the police and the prosecution in high-profile criminal cases have been greatly shaken by the bungling of the Mohd Hosni Fadzil murder trial. An independent commission should be establish to conduct a full investigation both into the sloppy police investigation and prosecution of botched murder trials and high-profile criminal cases in the past three years to restore public confidence in the system of justice in the country. (26/1/2007)
Parliamentary
Opposition Leader, MP for Ipoh Timur & DAP Central Policy and Strategic
Planning Commission Chairman |
Forward this statement -- Botched high-profile murder trials - independent commission of inquiry. |