High Court judge Justice S. Nantha Balan said in his 86 page judgment said that lorry driver P Chandran died in custody in 2012 simply because the police did not observe the Lock Up rules 1953.
The judge said under the rules, it was clear that the police must attend to the sick and in particular, when a detainee suffered from any form of mental illness.
The judge pointed out that police were aware Chandran was ill and needed to take medication.
It is most sad and totally unacceptable that a life was lost because of the failure of the investigating officer to follow the rules. The police concerned must be disciplined.
Noting that there were an average of 17 deaths per year between 2000-2014 involving detainees based on the Human Rights Commission Report, the judge has said that “ Indeed, in a modern, matured and evolved constitutional democracy such as Malaysia, it is axiomatic and imperative there should be zero deaths of detainees in police custody” .
I cannot agree more with the judge. The government cannot take custodial deaths as mere statistics and allow them to become the rule of the day.
To tackle the custodial death issue, a two pronged approach is needed– the changing of police mindset and the implementation of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission.
Last year, in a written reply to my parliamentary question, the Home Ministry revealed that there were a total of 269 deaths in custody nationwide over the past 16 years.
The answer revealed that:
- 220 of the deaths were caused by a series of illnesses that damaged the vital organs of the inmates;
- for 102 deaths in custody since 2000, it was decided by the court that no inquest was necessary, while inquests into 85 such deaths had been done;
- 14 deaths in custody are still in the inquest process, while investigations are ongoing for another 15 cases.
The annual number of deaths certainly shows that there is a systemic problem which must be effectively addressed. The government must realise that every life is important and all prisoners have the same right to life as others.