By: S. JAYATHAS
THIS morning P. Uthayakumar’s lawyer, M. Manoharan filed the order of the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordering some 16 senior police officers and the government of Malaysia to pay RM 145,000 for unlawful arrest right outside and at the corridors of the Sepang Magistrate Court after the Inquest of S. Tharmarajan (19) who was killed in police custody and for an alleged verbal abuse of a police Inspector during Court proceedings.
And thereafter detained at the Sepang police station. His first police arrest way back in 2003, P. Uthayakumar recalls the fear when his lips were moving in voluntarily and his hands shivering.
But Uthayakumar steadfast in his human rights struggle which led to the ten subsequent arrests and which peaked in his detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) on 13/12/07.
This first arrest was to deter P. Uthayakumar from taking up the then critical level of up to one victim dying in police custody every two weeks and one victim being shot dead by the police every week.
In fact one ASP at the Sentul police station actually told P. Uthayakumar’s younger brother and his lawyer P. Waythamoorthy to tell Uthayakumar to slow down as “they have to end up doing a lot of paper work.” Uthayakumar instead said that it was the police that had to slow down as it was human lives that was lost and lost forever.
60% of the victims are Indians when they form only 8% of the population. And the police lost the case because as we concede that the instances of death in police custody and death by police shooting has reduced by about 60%.
But today it is victory for the death in police custody victims and by police shooting victims and their families who feel somewhat vindicated.
We however will not rest on our laurels in the other general abuse of police powers, police high handedness, police above the law mindset of the Polis DiRaja Malaysia, police crimes which happens on a day to day basis nationwide especially affecting the poor and politically powerless Indian community in Malaysia. Every day Indians are unlawfully arrested, detained and beaten up in police lock ups.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court decision today is a message to the Malaysian police force to behave, and not to abuse their powers.
If only a four star army general had replaced Tan Sri Musa Hassan as the new Inspector General of Police it would have sent shivers down the spines of the almost always high handed and abusive police personnel and officers. The crime rate would have drastically improved. and so would the instances of police involvement in organised crime, Ah Long and under world activities would be curtailed a great deal, and it is better late than never with a four star army general as the new IGP.
For details, please read http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com
THIS morning P. Uthayakumar’s lawyer, M. Manoharan filed the order of the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordering some 16 senior police officers and the government of Malaysia to pay RM 145,000 for unlawful arrest right outside and at the corridors of the Sepang Magistrate Court after the Inquest of S. Tharmarajan (19) who was killed in police custody and for an alleged verbal abuse of a police Inspector during Court proceedings.
And thereafter detained at the Sepang police station. His first police arrest way back in 2003, P. Uthayakumar recalls the fear when his lips were moving in voluntarily and his hands shivering.
But Uthayakumar steadfast in his human rights struggle which led to the ten subsequent arrests and which peaked in his detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) on 13/12/07.
This first arrest was to deter P. Uthayakumar from taking up the then critical level of up to one victim dying in police custody every two weeks and one victim being shot dead by the police every week.
In fact one ASP at the Sentul police station actually told P. Uthayakumar’s younger brother and his lawyer P. Waythamoorthy to tell Uthayakumar to slow down as “they have to end up doing a lot of paper work.” Uthayakumar instead said that it was the police that had to slow down as it was human lives that was lost and lost forever.
60% of the victims are Indians when they form only 8% of the population. And the police lost the case because as we concede that the instances of death in police custody and death by police shooting has reduced by about 60%.
But today it is victory for the death in police custody victims and by police shooting victims and their families who feel somewhat vindicated.
We however will not rest on our laurels in the other general abuse of police powers, police high handedness, police above the law mindset of the Polis DiRaja Malaysia, police crimes which happens on a day to day basis nationwide especially affecting the poor and politically powerless Indian community in Malaysia. Every day Indians are unlawfully arrested, detained and beaten up in police lock ups.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court decision today is a message to the Malaysian police force to behave, and not to abuse their powers.
If only a four star army general had replaced Tan Sri Musa Hassan as the new Inspector General of Police it would have sent shivers down the spines of the almost always high handed and abusive police personnel and officers. The crime rate would have drastically improved. and so would the instances of police involvement in organised crime, Ah Long and under world activities would be curtailed a great deal, and it is better late than never with a four star army general as the new IGP.
For details, please read http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com
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