The Association for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham) has urged the police not to seek remand applications for suspects investigated for sedition and other cases where long incarceration does not contribute to investigations.

In a press release today, Proham said the sedition probe against activists Adam Adli Abdul Halim and Haris Ibrahim, along with Pakatan politicians Tian Chua and Tamrin Ghafar, should not require remand and that a 24-hour probe was sufficient.

"A mere recording of a statement may be sufficient. Evidence in cases of sedition can be obtained by other investigations and not by incarcerating the suspect for a period of seven days," said the NGO.

NONE Adam ( left ) had been remanded for five days under Section 124 of the Penal Code, whereas a remand application for the other three was refused.

All four have complained that their statements were not immediately recorded upon arrest, and they were instead detained for long periods before being subjected to questioning.

Proham, whose leadership comprise former Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) members, stressed that the Royal Police Commission had once recommended that upon detention of a suspect, the investigation should be completed within 24 horus.

"In the circumstances, remand application should be limited to cases where the investigation cannot be completed within 24 hours of the arrest," said Proham.

The group also urged the government to review its decision not to implement the proposed Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission ( IPCMC ) in view of the recent deaths of suspects in police custody.

The human rights NGO argued that such incidents had tarnished the image of the police force.

In a recent development, a pathologist report had suggested that custodial death victim N Dharmendran had died as a result of blunt force trauma while in police custody. However, this is in contrast with the police's claim that asthma had been the cause of Dharmendran's death.