Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo is going to file a civil suit at the Johor Baru High Court next month against the police and the government for the custodial death of Syed Mohd Azlan Syed Mohamed Nur.

"(To the government) in this case, do not dispute it. Do not defend it.

"Show that we are serious. Show that in this case, action will be taken against those who are guilty," Gobind said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

He will be filing the suit in the first week of December and will reveal more about this later, he added.

The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) released a report on Oct 30 that physical violence from the police during investigations was the cause of death of Syed Azlan on Nov 3, 2014.

The suit will be filed by Gobind on behalf of the family of the deceased

The deceased's father, Syed Mohamed Nur, said that the family was shocked and saddened by Syed Azlan's death.

"Until now, the police have failed to prove that my son committed any crime.

"So we will take legal action to get justice for my son," he said.

Gobind, however, pointed out that the power to prosecute the 13 police personnel involved in Syed Azlan's death lied with the attorney-general.

"The prosecutorial power is reserved exclusively for the attorney-general. So we have to wait for the AG to take action.

"I hope he (the attorney-general) will take a personal interest in this case. He is a former federal court judge. I think he will appreciate that in every case, there are two sides you have to look at.

"One (side) is the investigations by the police but we must not forget the interests of the deceased and his family," the lawyer said.

Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching, who was also present at the press conference, added that Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar should still take action against the 13 police personnel.

"He (Khalid) could kick the ball to the AG and say it's his decision whether to charge or not. But as the IGP, he can and should take disciplinary action against the culprits," she said.

'Don't play games'

The IGP has said that the police have almost concluded their own investigations into this case and will be submitting their findings to the Attorney-General's Chambers soon.

Gobind, however, questioned why were police only concluding their investigations now when it had been a year since Syed Azlan's death in police custody.

"What have you done for one year? Don't play games. I maintain he (IGP) must resign," he said.

The fact that a third party can investigate the case faster and more thoroughly than the police, he added, shows that the police are inept at their job.

"I want to ask, what has happened to the 13 police personnel? Have they been suspended or are they still on duty?" he asked.

Malaysiakini is currently trying to contact the Johor police superintendent in charge of integrity regarding the status of the 13 police personnel.

To prevent the hindering of investigations into future cases, Teo insisted that the Home Ministry and the Attorney-General's Chambers heed the EAIC's suggestions in their report.

The EAIC had suggested that the Penal Code and the Evidence Act be amended to include a presumption provision where the burden of proof should lie with the authorities in charge of the detainees.

Syed Azlan was detained by police on Nov 3 last year in Johor and brought to the Sungai Rengit police station.

Later that day, he was found dead. A post-mortem showed that he had died from a blunt force trauma to the chest, with a total of 61 injuries on his body.

The EAIC had discovered that his death was related to police physical violence and that police personnel had tampered with the evidence at the crime scene and hid witnesses.