The death of Aminulrasyid Amzah has shocked the country. A 15-year-old schoolboy was shot dead by the police. A lot of speculations are made.

Another boy, Azamanudin Omar, who was with Aminulrasyid during the incident, has revealed everything – the truth. And the Selangor CPO has quickly called this an ‘unethical’ move by the lawyers who were representing the boy.

What or who are being unethical here? What happened when the police labelled the dead boy as a criminal without any investigation? They even claimed they found a parang in the car. The parang is nowhere to be seen.

The IGP said the car driven by the boy was equivalent to a ‘weapon’. Although all four tires were punctured by bullets. The IGP then threatened to pull his men from the streets.

The media then starts diverting the issue like suggesting that a curfew be imposed on teenagers so they don’t go out at night.

Are all this ‘ethical’? A 15-year-old-boy was shot dead in his head for not stopping when the police instructed him to do so. His offence was driving without a licence. This does not give the police the licence to ‘kill’. The right to life is fundamental one.

All human rights treaties and laws in the country guarantee this right. That is why civil society and NGOs are demanding for an independent and fair investigation over this shooting. This is a serious matter.

According to Suram, there were 44 deaths by police shootings in 2008. Klang MP, Charles Santiago, said at least 39 people were fatally shot by police in 2009. Until April 2010, there were 18 deaths caused by police.

Can the police tell how many policemen were shot dead in the last two years? Can they prove in all the incidents their lives were put at risk by the so-called ‘criminals’? Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The police have no power to take someone’s life in the name of self-defence.

We hope the truth will prevail. The police will have to change their mindset and attitude. Let’s hope we will not lose more Aminulrasyids. Let get focussed and be ethical.

The writer is attached to the Jerit secretariat.