An opposition lawmaker today called upon the government to amend the Criminal Procedure Code to make it mandatory for inquests to be held in all cases of deaths at the hands of the police.

This is important as the families of those killed - either while in custody or by shooting - will have access to an independent inquiry in respect of their loss, said DAP's Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo.

teoh beng hock inquest 011009 gobind singh He added that the mandatory inquest will also instil greater responsibility and accountability on the police as "they will know that their acts will later be subject to open scrutiny".

"I call upon the Inspector General of Police to support my suggestion. I can see no reason for the police to be afraid of an open inquiry if they have nothing to hide in these incidents to begin with," he said in a statement today.

Gobind's proposal comes in the wake of a police shooting which killed five suspected criminals in Taman Klang Utama on Monday.

The police claimed that the five - aged between 17 and 24 - were part of the 'PCO Boy' gang, responsible for a spate of robberies.

Police defended shooting

The police on Tuesday defended the shooting and said they were not "trigger-happy".

"When police officers shoot, they do not shoot to kill, but rather they shoot to stop the deadly force threat," said CID director Mohd Bakri Mohd Zinin in a statement.

NONE "It is clearly within the right of the police to act in self-defence and protect the lives of innocent bystanders," he added.

Gobind however refused to accept this explanation from the police.

"The shooting and killing of five people in Klang must be severely condemned. Why was it necessary to kill them?

"The question which arises is whether or not we have a check mechanism to verify not only that the police acted in self defence in shooting but also whether there was a necessity to shoot to kill," he said.

He said that presently it was rare for inquests to be conducted into such cases and thus was a need for an amendment in law to make it compulsory.

A suicide attempt

Arising out of the latest police killing, a sister of one of the victims yesterday attempted suicide by drinking paraquat. She had also forced her four children to consume the poison.

While she is still under intense care, her four children are undergoing treatment in a normal ward in Klang.

Responding to this, another opposition lawmaker, DAP's Klang MP Charles Santiago, said Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein must accept the fact that the police are trigger-happy.

"Hishammuddin might not agree with accusations that the police have been indulging in random shooting but this is a fact.

"The police force has come under fire one too many times for abusing its power. Media reports state that at least 39 people were killed by police in shootouts for the whole of last year.

"But Hishammuddin's skewed political philosophy clearly shows he is not shy about championing the force," said Santiago in a statement.

Take a different approach

He said that the government must resolve crime from a development perspective as opposed to the - tried and failed - law and security approach.

pakatan cij parliament pc 131108 charles santiago "This would involve creating jobs, offering skills training and providing loans and small contracts to vulnerable youths, especially Indian youths.

"Essentially, the government at the federal, state and local levels have to create an enabling environment with a view of creating opportunities for the poor and lower middle classes to be socially and economically mobile.

"The present trigger- happy approach is not going to solve the crime problem that confronts us," he said.

He also called upon the Selangor police to immediately set up a public inquiry involving various stakeholders to investigate the killing of the five youths.

"The public inquiry should explain why these men were not arrested as suspects, charged in court, and if found guilty, sent to prison," he said.