An opposition politician today urged the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) to be more assertive in investigating cases of human rights violations.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president R Sivarasa (photo left) said the law - the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999 - empowers the commission to hold an inquiry on its own initiative.

Sivarasa, who is a practising lawyer, said this after submitting a memorandum on missing police detainee G Francis Udayappan and R Mageswaran at the commission headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

Francis was said to have escaped from police custody in April by jumping into a nearby river but his family believes that he could have been fatally assaulted by the police and dumped into the river. An investigation later ruled out any foul play.

Whereas, Mageswaran was found hanged in a toilet at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters. While the police claimed it was suicide, his family suspected something amiss.

Commissioner Hamdan Adnan (photo right) and complaints and inquiry division chief Jamaludin Othman received the memorandum. Also present were the families of Francis and Mageswaran.

Public pressure

Sivarasa said Suhakam, which was formed in 1999, must step up public pressure.

"Keep repeating things to the police and if they are not taking your advise, stamp your authority as a human rights body by taking them to task.

"If there are alleged misconducts by the police, there must be an independent mechanism to investigate the claims. Those conducting the investigations must not be from the police. Suhakam must play a role in advising the government in such issues," he added.

Responding, Hamdan said the five-year-old commission has to deal with several obstacles in carrying out its tasks.

"I agree with Sivarasa but we are facing problems. I mean, it has taken us five years to get the government to allow us into police remand centres. We are always trying very hard to look into matters of human rights," said the commissioner.

Suhakam had earlier recommended for an inquest into the case of Francis but nothing has transpired thus far.

And when quizzed by those present on the status of the inquest, Hamdan replied: "The law doesn't give us (Suhakam) much power to act more than we would like to. We do inquire into matters but we just get unsatisfactory responses and results."

At this juncture, Sivarasa said Suhakam should fully utilise its investigative powers and suggested that it starts with deaths in police custody.

"There is a large number of suspicious deaths in police custody. I acknowledge that it is physically and logistically impossible for Suhakam to look into all these cases but why not pick two or three cases and subject it to a full inquiry?" he added.

Mother breaks down

The meeting with the Suhakam officials turned into an emotionally charged affair after Francis' mother G Sara Lily fell to her knees and broke out in tears.

With arms outstretched, she pleaded with Hamdan to help her claim the 'remains of her son' from the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre.

The police recovered a highly decomposed body of a man from the Klang river on May 23 and Sara identified it as her son based on a tattoo and teeth deformity.

However, a DNA test with her blood sample did not match.

"Sara is in a difficult emotional situation. First the police implied that the body found was that of her son. Then she identified the body herself. Now the police claim it is not her son. This is too much for a mother," said Sivarasa.

Meanwhile, Magesvaran's uncle R Balasubramian urged Suhakam to probe the doubts surrounding his nephew's death.

"One of which is that there were no ligature marks around the neck of my nephew, yet the police claimed he had hanged himself with a garden hose with three loops around the neck." he said.

Post-mortem results

Lawyer N.Surendran, who was also present, urged Suhakam to get the police to allow both families to conduct independent DNA tests and post mortems.

He also asked for action to be taken against UUMC for refusing to release the post mortem reports to both families on the grounds that it had not been instructed to do so by the police.

"There is certainly a lack of understanding and adhering to professional principles when the hospital takes orders form the police." he said.

Sivarasa then interjected, saying: "For a patient who is alive, no doctor or hospital is allowed to refuse the patient his medical report. When a patient dies, his next of kin has the right to the reports."

Both Sivarasa and Hamdan agreed that there should be independent forensic units in the country and that there should be a move to implement independency in matters like medical tests.

They suggested that the Malaysian Medical Association, public health authorities, the Bar Council, Suhakam and other relevant authorities meet to discuss this serious issue.

Hamdan said he will bring all these matters up when the commission board members meet next Monday.