The Malaysian Bar Council expressed alarm today over the deaths of 19 people this year while in police custody and called for an investigation into the deaths.

The high number of deaths in police custody has cast doubt over the integrity of the police force in treating detainees and in the administration of lock-ups, it said in a statement.

The Bar Council, which represents some 8,000 lawyers in the country, said it could also generate public fear and block their cooperation with police in investigating and preventing crime.

It called for each death to be "thoroughly explained and the investigative process kept visibly transparent."