Family give police two weeks to investigate detainees death
The family of the 20-year-old youth who died while in police custody have given the authorities a two-week deadline to complete their investigations and release the details surrounding the cause of death.
Lawyer P Uthayakumar, who is acting as legal counsel for the bereaved family, said, "We challenge the Kuala Lumpur police chief Syed Abdul Rahmad Syed Abdul Kadir to release the findings of the investigation in two weeks and that he should stop making political statements."
He was responding to a New Sunday Times article in which Syed Abdul Rahman said that a task force had been set up to investigate the allegations of negligence and brutality in the death of S Tharma Rajen.
"We cannot say for sure that police brutality was the cause of his death until the investigation is over," Syed Abdul Raman said.
Tharma Rajen, 20, was a waiter in Kuala Lumpur before his arrest in early April. He was transferred to four different police stations in almost two months under police custody before his death after admission to the Putrajaya hospital.
Badly beaten
Last Friday, his family alleged that he had been badly beaten up and that proper medical care to him had been delayed.
A report in the Malay Mail said that Tharma Rajen was arrested during Operation Copperhead, a nationwide crackdown on Indian gangsters. He was alleged to have been involved in a gang fight at the Seri Sarawak flats in Jalan Kenanga, Kuala Lumpur.
Uthayakumar said the death was suspicious as Tharma Rajen was a healthy person before his arrest.
Attempts by malaysiakini to contact Syed Abdul Rahman were not successful. When contacted, his deputy Dell Akbar Khan said he "does not want to comment when the chief police officer was present".
Bukit Aman police spokesperson Shamsuddin Ali however said the police would not hide anything in the course of the investigations.
"The family can allege anything they want but we have nothing to hide. We will take any necessary action if foul play is found," Shamsuddin said.
For more news and views that matter, subscribe and support independent media for only RM0.36 sen a day:
Subscribe now