Seven victims of the Kampung Medan tragedy has filed a law suit against two ex-top police officers - former Petaling Jaya OCPD Sheikh Mustafa Sheikh Ahmad and former Selangor chief police officer Nik Ismail Nik Yusof - as well as the police chief and the Malaysian government.

The victims alleged that the police had failed in their responsibility to carry out their duties, and as a result, six were killed and 78 others were severely injured in clashes between ethnic Indians and Malays.

About 300 people, mostly youth, were arrested by the police.

The ethnic clashes, which lasted for four days beginning March 8, 2001, was concentrated along several squatter settlements and low-cost housing areas in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

The Kampung Medan tragedy was the worst ethnic clash in 30 years since the 1969 racial riots.

The clashes were reported to have started from two incidents - one in Kampung Semarak, Taman Medan, involving a wedding and a funeral, and another in Taman Desaria flats involving the smashing of a windscreen by a catapult.

However, the persons involved in the incidents later clarified that they had nothing to do with starting the communal clashes.

According to the plantiffs, the damages have yet to be quantified, pending medical reports on the injuries sustained by victims.

The seven plantiffs are Suresh Radakrishnan, Anbalakan Aynan, Anbarasan Velappan, Janakan Pillai Bala, Tamil Selbam Palaniandy, Subramaniam Vythilingam and Muniandy Vellay.

They were at the High Court this morning with their lawyers N Surendran and M Manogar. Police Watch and Human Rights Committee's P Uthayakumar was also present.

No action

Uthayakumar has lamented that the authorities have failed to take action despite a police report being lodged on the matter in 2001.

"Three years ago, I lodged a police report against the inspector-general of police, deputy inspector-general, Selangor chief police officer and Petaling Jaya district police chief, and all other police officers that failed, neglected, omitted or refused to provide protection to Kampung Medan Indian minority," Uthayakumar said.

"But until today, the police have yet to record a statement from me under section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code," he added.

According to Uthayakumar, the police force took two weeks to restore law and order in Kampung Medan, which he said is an area of only 10 kilometres in radius.

"The police inspector-general had made a public statement that an official report on Kampung Medan would be released," he said.

"But when Teresa Kok, the MP for Seputeh, asked for the same in Parliament, the deputy home minister replied that it was a state secret and could not be made public," he said.

Uthayakumar said that the International Herald Tribune had reported in March, 2001, that a group of policemen watched while a victim by the name of Muniratnam was beaten to death.

However, the police have yet to probe the incident, said Uthayakumar.