An average of 1.3 persons was shot dead by the police every week, according to a memorandum handed to the prime minister today.

The statistic is based on a statement made by the then deputy home minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir that in the past 10 years, a total of 635 people were killed as a result of being shot by the police, out of which 355 were locals.

The minister, who was answering a question in Parliament in May last year, also said that the police could only open fire if their lives were in danger and to protect themselves.

The memorandum, which detailed deaths caused by rampant police shooting, called for a Royal Commission to examine the issue.

The extensively researched memorandum was prepared by the Police Watch and Human Rights Committee of Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia (Prim), and copies have also been handed to Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai, the Home Affairs Ministry, Minister in charge of law Dr Rais Yatim and Attorney-General Mohtar Abdullah.

In addition, the memorandum, titled Illegal , Unlawful , Ruthless and Brutal Death by Police Shooting , have also been given to MIC, the National Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), the Bar Council, all opposition parties and a host of non-governmental organisations.

Chairman of the committee RN Rajah, who signed the memorandum, said the objective was to "highlight the alarming and increasing reported incidence of death caused by police shooting".

The memorandum included a long list of fatal police shooting incidents from 1993 until the latest case involving a mental patient shot in Kluang on Oct 10 [#1](Fatal police shootings)[/#]

It also said it believed there were "hundreds of other cases which are not reported", adding that all the facts and circumstances of such shootings are controlled by the police.

Kluang incident

The memorandum highlighted the police ruthlessness and brutality in killing the mental patient Thevarajah Suppiah, who was shot by the police while running away from them after releasing his 10-year-old hostage of four hours.

The memorandum said the police could have captured Thevarajah as he was only armed with a pen knife, or could have just shot him in his leg to capture him alive and bring him before the court.

"The police took the law into their own hands ... they are paid by taxpayers' money and are properly trained to protect citizens, not to kill them," said Rajah.

The memorandum also questioned as to why a psychologist or a psychiatrist was not used to persuade the mentally unfit man to release his hostage and surrender calmly.

It added that the police had in fact exercised restraint in shooting in the past and cited the arrests of the A-Ma'unah members as well as the businessman who shot and killed a woman along Jalan Kampung Attap.

"In both these cases, the accused persons were not shot dead but were successfully captured alive and put to stand trial," it stated.

"In contrast why could not this mental patient who was only armed with a pen knife be captured alive?" the memorandum questioned.

Police trigger-happy

The police are blatantly and ruthlessly continuing to be trigger-happy despite many protests made from time to time by various human rights organisations and NGOs, the memorandum added.

Rajah revealed that no action has been taken by the government on two other memorandums handed by 180 NGOs in 1998 demanding an independent probe into police shootings.

"They urged the government to investigate the two shootings involving the police which occurred in Tumpat, Kelantan, and Balakong, Selangor.

"The NGOs warned that the public will lose confidence in the police if the police continued to ignore the public outcry over the killings," Rajah recalled.

Rajah said there is no law which permits the police to shoot dead an individual and not all policemen involved in such shootings have been charged in court for the killings.

"The due process of the law is for the police to arrest the accused and charge them in court. By shooting them, the police would in effect be exercising the roles of the judge, jury, prosecutor and executioner," said Rajah.

It is the inherent right of every individual to his life and it is illegal, unlawful, ruthless and brutal for the police to act unilaterally, high-handedly and to abuse their powers by shooting dead an individual, he added.

The memorandum also adopts recommendations made by the Bar Council dated March 10 last year in its memorandum on police killings.

The Bar recommended that the AG should use his powers to direct magistrates in holding inquiries into the cause and circumstances of allegations regarding police brutality resulting in death.

It also said the IGP must ensure that there are adequate checks against fatal shootings of suspects, as well as for the home affairs ministry to issue more directives accordingly.

The High Court chief judge must also exercise his discretion and power in directing magistrates to hold inquiries into the cause of such deaths.

Proposals for change

The memorandum proposed that the IGP must notify in writing within 48 hours to certain interested parties of each and every case of death by police shooting to reflect and give effect to responsibility, accountability and transparency of the police force.

The parties recommended in the memorandum are the Bar Council, Suhakam, the AG, NGOs Suaram and National Human Rights Society (Hakam) and also to the Prim Police Watch and Human Rights Committee.

Apart from this, the home affairs minister must also notify and make answerable and accountable to Parliament at the immediate next session for each and every incident of individuals shot dead by the police.

The Police Act should also be amended to charge the police personnel involved in such shootings and also to charge the officer in charge if no inquiry is initiated within two weeks.

The memorandum also proposed that only specific police personnel are trained in the use of firearms to avoid cases of police being "trigger-happy", and that the police training programmes should be reviewed and revamped to include, among others, requiring all police personnel to attend talks on human rights by Suhakam.

It also proposed that police efficiency and professionalism should be improved by re-training all policemen and making them go through a written examination before any promotion.