DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang today urged the government to extend an ex-gratia payment to two other innocent civilians who were allegedly killed by police.

He was responding to the RM400,000 payment that the government agreed to as part of the settlement in a negligence suit brought by G Alameloo Mangai, 11, and G Keerthana, eight, whose mother N Selvamalar was shot dead in a police raid three years ago.

"I call on the government to apply the same principle in Selvamalar's case and extend an ex-gratia payment to Dr Tai Eng Teck and Mohd Zailani Mohd Salleh, two other victims of indiscriminate shoot-outs by trigger-happy police," said Lim in a statement.

He urged Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to make a ministerial announcement in Parliament next week to adopt a more serious and responsible approach to deal with any future breakdowns of police discipline.

"Abdullah should also announce the extension of ex-gratia payment of RM400,000 to the families of Tai and Mohd Zailani," said Lim.

Tai died of three gun-shot wounds to his head and hand when he was in a car with a companion in Kuala Lumpur in September two years ago. The policeman who fired the shots was later on convicted of causing the death of Tai.

Mohd Zailani was mistaken as one of four bank robbers and shot dead by police in Kepong, Selangor, in January 1999.

Public confidence shaken

Yesterday, the KL High Court recorded a consent order in which the government agreed to pay RM400,000 to settle the negligence suit brought by the two sisters against the government, former Inspector-General of Police Rahim Noor, former Selangor police chief Kamaruddin Hamzah and former Selangor CID chief Senior Asst Comm (II) Johar Che Din.

The siblings claimed that they were made orphans and had suffered loss and damage, including being deprived of motherly care, as a result of the wrongful acts or default by the defendants.

Selvamalar was eight months pregnant when she was killed along with her husband and three others by police in a raid initiated by an investigation into the kidnap of former Selangor Menteri Besar Muhammad Muhammad Taib's son.

Police claimed that they had reason to believe that the boy was in the house and acted in self-defence when shots were fired from inside.

Lim said the settlement has brought to an end "one of the many cases of indiscriminate police killing of innocent people who were no hardcore criminals".

He added that over the years, such cases have outraged the people and shaken public confidence in the professionalism of police.

"It is hoped that the out-of-court settlement of Selvamalar suit marks a more responsible attitude of the government towards any breakdown of police professionalism," he said.