theSun | THURSDAY JANUARY 29 2009 3

news without borders

briefs Six arrested at UMMC mortuary

Anti-ISA vigil organiser free
GEORGE TOWN: A tuition teacher who helped
organise an anti-ISA candlelight vigil last
year is free again after she was arrested in
November and put on extended bail.
Paula Khoo, 48, found to her surprise
that she no longer needed to report to
the police, as was required, when she
visited the George Town district police
headquarters here yesterday.
A beaming Khoo emerged from the
headquarters, saying she was informed by
the police that she no longer had to report
to them. “The police said they will contact
me later,” she said.
Khoo was welcomed by about a dozen
people wearing “anti-ISA” and “Free-RPK”
T-shirts. Among those who were waiting
outside were Bukit Bendera MP, Liew Chin
Tong, Penang Watch Coordinator B.K. Ong
and lawyer Cecil Rajendra.
Liew told theSun citizens should be
able to express themselves without fear or
intimidation.
Khoo was detained on Nov 15 after a
candlelight vigil at the Esplanade, even
though participants had dispersed.
She was detained for four hours under
Section 141 of the Penal Code for taking part
in an illegal gathering, and later freed on bail.
Ex-lawyer charged with CBT
BUTTERWORTH: A former lawyer was
charged in the sessions court yesterday
with criminal breach of trust involving
his client’s insurance payout totalling
RM277,141.61. Pathmanathan a/l M. Ku-
by Charles Ramendran Medical Centre (UMMC) mortuary yesterday investigation into a murder case.
newsdesk@thesundaily.com to protest the controversial death of detainee A. The funeral possession that followed the
Kugan in police custody on Jan 20. claiming of the body saw road closures and
PETALING JAYA: Police arrested six people, However, five of the six were released police escorts coming out in force. There were
including a wanted man, for defying orders, as between 8pm and 10pm. The sixth detainee several commotions but police kept the situa-
they tried to control the crowd when hundreds will be remanded and sent to Johor for tion under control.
of people turned up at the University Malaya About 300 police personnel from
Brickfields and Petaling Jaya, includ-
ing the Light Strike Force and Federal
Reserve Unit personnel, were at the
UMMC by 10am and by 1pm, at least
300 people had gathered at the road
junction leading to the hospital.
The crowd chanted and demanded
justice for late Kugan.
Members of Parliament from the
Pakatan Rakyat coalition, and Penang
Deputy Chief Minister P. Ramasamy,
arrived shortly after with Kugan’s
family to claim the remains of the 22-
year-old man, who was detained for
suspected car-hijacking on Jan 15.
A commotion took place
when security guards barred
the deceased’s family members,
who were accompanied by their
lawyer N. Surendran, Kapar MP S.
Manikavasagam and Puchong MP
Gobind Singh Deo, from entering
the morgue. However, they were
allowed in minutes later.
At that point, police gave their
first order to the crowd to disperse
Police barring a from the mortuary area and FRU
section of the personnel were deployed.
crowd outside At about 2pm, the hearse carry-
the UMMC ing Kugan’s body left the hospital
mortuary. and police temporarily closed the roads in the
vicinity.
Mourners walked slowly behind the hearse

Don’t regard criminals

marasamy, 40, from Kuala Lumpur was which took almost an hour to turn into the
alleged to have failed to hand over the Federal Highway. The hearse then headed
money to A.V.R. Menon. towards the USJ 8 police station where Kugan
The offence under Section 409 of the collapsed and died on Jan 20 during interroga-
Penal Code was allegedly committed at tion.
the office of Messrs Mawar, Nathan & Co At 3.15pm, about 400 people had assembled
in Jalan Todak 3, Pusat Bandar Seberang opposite the USJ 8 police station where they

as heroes: Syed Hamid

Jaya between Dec 8 and 19, 2001. He
pleaded not guilty.
Pathmanathan, who quit legal practice
in 2003 and became a part-time lecturer,
applied for at least four months to prepare
his defence. He was arrested two days
ago for the offence allegedly committed
in 2001 based on a police report lodged in
2004, he said. Judge Amernudin Ahmad
allowed bail at RM25,000 with one surety
and fixed two days from May 28 for trial.
– Bernama
Two quakes rock Indonesia
KUALA LUMPUR: Two moderate earth-
quakes struck Indonesia yesterday, one in
northern Sumatra and the other in western
Irian, according to the Meteorology Depart-
ment here. The Sumatra quake, of magnitude
5.4, struck at 8.01am, with its epicentre at
118km southwest of Padang Sidempuan in
Indonesia and 395km southwest of Klang, it
said in a statement.
The Irian quake, of magnitude 5.2, struck
at 9.34am, with its epicentre at 901km east
of Ambon in Indonesia, it added. – Bernama
PUTRAJAYA: The people should not regard
criminals as heroes and the police who enforce
the law as demons, Home Minister Datuk Seri
Syed Hamid Albar said yesterday.
Speaking in general terms, he said no one
was above the law and action would be taken
against those who broke the law, even if it was
the police. “We will not conceal the facts,” he
told reporters at his office.
Syed Hamid said he was not linking his
statement with the death of car theft suspect A.
Kugan who had died while in police custody at
the Taipan police station in Subang Jaya on Jan
20. “I am not pinpointing anybody,” the minister
said.
He explained that police had detained three
suspects, including Kugan, following investiga-
tions into 19 cases of vehicle theft and armed
robbery.
The minister also asked the people not to
politicise the investigation into Kugan’s death,
saying it would make the task more difficult.
“They must talk of the case based on facts
and not assumptions,” he said.
Kugan, 22, who was detained on Jan 15 at
the Taipan police station on suspicion of being
involved in the theft of luxury cars in Sungai
Chua, Kajang, died while in police custody.
Selangor police chief, Datuk Khalid Abu
Bakar had said a postmortem revealed that
Kugan had died due to fluid in his lungs, but
Kugan’s family sought a second post-mortem,
insisting that Kugan had died of injuries.
Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail
said later Kugan’s death had been classified as
murder.
A second post-mortem on Kugan was done.
The police are investigating Kugan’s death
and the results are expected to be known soon.
– Bernama
held another round of noisy protests. Police
personnel at the scene maintained order.
The hearse and the convoy of vehicles car-
rying the mourners left about 30 minutes later
and headed for the Puchong Hindu cemetery
near Bandar Puteri Puchong.
At 4.15pm, just when the hearse and the
hundreds of mourners swarmed the cemetery,
it rained heavily for 20 minutes.
However, this did not deter the mourners,
who gathered around Kugan’s grave.
Teluk Intan MP M. Manoharan said Kugan’s
death should be an eye-opener to the public
on the brutality of the police in interrogating
suspects.
Brickfields police chief ACP Wan Bari Wan
Abdul Khalid said police arrested six people
aged between 20 and 55 for obstructing police
and defying their orders. He said one of those
detained was also wanted for a murder case.
He said another two are being probed under
the Societies Act for their roles in Hindraf. One
of two men was Hindraf national coodinator
R.S. Thanenthiran.
Petaling Jaya police chief ACP Arjunaidi
Mohammed said except for minor commo-
tions, the situation was under control.

Review interrogation methods, PPP urges police

by Tim Leonard
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PETALING JAYA: The People’s Pro-
gressive Party (PPP) yesterday urged
police to review their interrogation
methods and implement measures
to prevent death of suspects while in
custody.
PPP president Datuk M. Kayveas
said it was time the police force
brushed up its image following the
death of suspected car thief A. Kugan
while in police custody at the Taipan
station in Subang Jaya last Tuesday.
Kayveas suggested that only po-
licemen with the rank of an inspector
or above be authorised to interrogate
suspects. Every interrogation session
should also be recorded on video
to ensure suspects are not abused
or assaulted, as done in developed
countries.
He said the scenario in many police
stations is that low-ranking person-
nel, including new police recruits, can
get into physical contact with the
suspects.
Kayveas, who is also a lawyer,
said, if only specific-ranked officers
are allowed to interrogate, there will
be greater accountability and respon-
sibility to ensure suspects are not
assaulted freely in lock-ups.
“No matter how small or serious
the crime may be, it must be ensured
that a highly trained officer such as an
inspector, chief inspector, superintend-
ent or those ranked higher, carries out
the interrogation.
“Here, a lot seems to be going on
behind ‘closed doors’ where anything
can happen,” he added.
The government, he said, should
allocate more funds to train police
officers to carry out effective and ef-
ficient interrogation.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Indian
Youth Development Foundation, in a
statement, said the death of Kugan
is a shocking incident not just for the
Indians but for all Malaysians.
“The use of violence in interroga-
tion must be banned,” said its chair-
man S. A. Vigneswaran.
“Why does custodial violence still
exist? We must look at the causes of
such inhumane acts by the police, not
just the effects,” he said.
He urged the police to make public
the findings of the probe and ensure a
transparent and impartial investigation
of those responsible for the murder.
Gerakan, meanwhile, has sug-
gested that police investigation pow-
ers be codified and defined like the
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
of the United Kingdom.
In a press release, Gerakan deputy
president and chairman of the legal and
human rights bureau, Datuk Chang Ko
Youn said: “The UK Act codifies how
the police must treat suspects from
the time they are detained right up to
when they are charged in court.”
The Act also covers how police
take samples from suspects, identi-
fication procedures and specialised
codes of practice governing conduct
of the police.
He said Malaysia needs an act
that will ensure the police respect
the basic principles of human rights in
line with the UN Code of Conduct for
Law Enforcement Officials, article 2 of
which provides that “in the perform-
ance of their duty, law enforcement
officials shall respect and protect
human dignity and uphold the human
rights of all persons”.
“The existing law governing inves-
tigation and detention by the police,
is a variety of acts and the Criminal
Penal Code which provides inadequate
protection to suspects, resulting in a
number of suspects losing their lives
while under detention.
“For too long we have given wide
powers to enforcement officials result-
ing in mismanagement of the power.
“This does not reflect well on the
government,” he said.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minis-
ter’s Department Senator T. Murugiah,
at a press conference at the Perak
Public Complaints Bureau in Ipoh, said
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib
Abdul Razak has promised to take ac-
tion against the Selangor police chief
over the matter.
He said the result of the second
autopsy on Kugan will only be known
in three to four weeks as the victim’s
organs have to be sent to pathology
labs for a conclusive finding.