“He was 18. If he contributed to the Malaysian government for 25 years, I'm sure he would have done a lot. Why did the police do this?”

NONE This was the desperate question that has weighed on the mind of Azri Arin ( far left ), the elder brother of police shooting victim Mohd Arfam.

Mohd Arfam, who just joined the workforce as a mechanic, was killed by a shot in the heart on the night of Oct 20, 2009 after being chased down by three police motorcycle patrol units in Johor on suspicion of snatch theft.

Speaking to reporters at the Parliament lobby today, Azri, 28, was a roiling sea of emotions as he demanded that justice be done for his dead brother.

“We are regular people. We have no power, we merely follow the law. But the law is oppressing us. Is this Malaysian law?

NONE “I'm here to demand for justice. We have to ask the police, are they fulfilling responsibilities or not? We have laws and those laws are to guide us,” he said.

Their mother, Sapiah Md Elah, 52, from Simpang Waha Felda, Kota Tinggi, could only manage a plea for justice over her son's death as she sat holding a portrait of Mohd Arfam.

“I want justice for my son, and for my son's name to be cleared,” she said between sobs.

Azri and Sapiah appeared in Parliament today with representatives for a group of 26 political and non-governmental organisations from Johor to present a petition to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Victims getting younger

The petition also highlighted the shooting deaths of Agustin Mahamenathan and M Jagathesan, both in their 30s, in Johor on Oct 20, 2008 for alleged armed robbery.

The petition demands that inspector-general of police Musa Hassan resign and that legal action be taken against the police officers involved in the fatal shootings.

It also calls for a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate all shooting deaths by the police, and the revival of the proposed Independent Police Commission on Misconduct and Complaints (IPCMC) to monitor police abuses.

NONE Klang MP Charles Santiago ( far right ), who will help the group forward the petition to the premier, said it is high time that the government takes serious steps to address the trend of fatal police shootings.

“Earlier shootings involved people who were 40 years old, then 30 years old, now 18 years old and most recently in Aminulrasyid's case he was 14 years old.

“The age (of victims) is getting lower and lower, and it shows that the police are not taking this issue seriously at all. We ask the government to do something serious before we lose all faith in the government and especially the police,” he said at the same press conference.

VIDEO | 8.45 mins