Deaths In Police Custody: Here Are Some Answers, Bozo!

Hantu Laut

Death in police custody not only happened in Malaysia, it happenned all over the world, but in Malaysia opposition politicians made political mileage out of it. 

The oppositions have no real concern for rights of citizens but used  the unfortunate incidents as political tool to rile up unsuspecting Malaysians to hate the police and ultimately put the blame on the government.

There are many reasons detainees died in custody.Some detainees are excessively violent and needed strong arm tactic to be subdued and things can get out of hand giving the police no choice but to use excessive force. Some may have died due to overzealous policemen who went over the limit of proper police conduct. Suicide, is another cause of death in police custody. The U.S. and U.K findings on death in custody are almost similar.

In the U.K,  considering the police force was less gung-ho than in the U.S,  there were 5998 deaths recorded between 2000 and 2010 that give an average of 545 deaths per year.

In Malaysia, the latest death in police custody was that of a former engineer P Karuna Nithi of unknown causes, which raised the ire of some opposition Pakatan Rakyat's elected members. They waste no time to harangue the government including Prime Minister Najib.

The Malaysian public are being cheated by opposition politicians into thinking that death in police custody only happened in Malaysia and nowhere else.

Malaysians are easily fooled because they are the proverbial "katak dibawa tempurong", they either don't read at all, or read only juicy stuffs.

Below are some answers to deaths in police custody in the U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 2,000 criminal suspects died in police custody over a three-year period, half of them killed by officers as they scuffled or attempted to flee, the government said Thursday.

The study by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics is the first nationwide compilation of the reasons behind arrest-related deaths in the wake of high-profile police assaults or killings involving Abner Louima and Amadou Diallo in New York in the late 1990s.

The review found 55% of the 2,002 arrest-related deaths from 2003 through 2005 were due to homicide by state and local law enforcement officers. Alcohol and drug intoxication caused 13% of the deaths, followed by suicides at 12%, accidental injury at 7% and illness or natural causes, 6%. The causes for the deaths of the remaining 7% were unknown.

The highly populated states of California, Texas and Florida led the pack for both police killings and overall arrest-related deaths. Georgia, Maryland and Montana were not included in the study because they did not submit data.

Most of those who died in custody were men (96%) between the ages of 18 and 44 (77%). Approximately 44% were white; 32% black; 20% Hispanic; and 4% were of other or multiple races.

"Keep in mind we have 2,000 deaths out of almost 40 million arrests over three years, so that tells you by their nature they are very unusual cases," said Christopher J. Mumola, who wrote the study.

"Still, they do need to be looked at to determine whether police training can be better or practices can be better," he said.

State laws and police department policy typically let officers use deadly force to defend themselves or others from the threat of death or serious injury. Deadly force also is allowed to prevent the escape of a suspect in a violent felony who poses an immediate threat to others.

The Justice Department study released Thursday suggests that most of the police killings would be considered justified, although it does not make that final determination. About 80% of the cases involved criminal suspects who reportedly brandished a weapon "to threaten or assault" the arresting officers.

Another 17% involved suspects who allegedly grabbed, hit or fought with police. More than one-third of the police killings, or about 36%, involved a suspect who tried to flee or otherwise escape arrest.

The report was compiled at the request of Congress in 2000 after the 1997 struggle between New York police and Louima, a black security guard who left the precinct house bleeding after officers jammed a broken broomstick into his mouth and rectum. A few years later, two police shootings of unarmed black men followed, including Diallo, who was shot 41 times after he reached into his pocket for a wallet.

Since then, following police sensitivity training, New York has seen a few killings involving suspects and officers, including last year's shooting of Sean Bell, an unarmed black bridegroom-to-be whom police say they believed was reaching for a gun.

New York now ranks sixth nationwide in the number of police killings, behind Arizona and Illinois, according to Thursday's report.

Other findings:

• Among law enforcement, 380 officers were killed in the line of duty over the three-year period and 174,760 were reportedly assaulted, according to FBI data. Most of the deaths were accidental (221), while 159 were homicides.

• Blacks were disproportionately represented in arrest-related deaths due to alcohol or drug intoxication (41% vs. 33% for whites); accidental injury (42% vs. 37% for whites); and unknown causes (46% vs. 39% for whites).

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Malaysia's Opposition: The Ultimate Political Pariahs

Hantu Laut

Watch the video!



Are they lawmakers or law breakers. 

I could hardly believe that this kind of dirty politicking is actually happening in this country. People, seriously intent on causing trouble to achieve their own political mileage. 

Without any doubt trying to resurrect their waning popularity through altercation, political extortion and summary justice. 

Accusing the police of murder without proper basis and refusing an inquest proposed by the police. 

They knew an inquest can get to the bottom of how Sugumaran died, but they want to politicise the whole issue by unreasonably demanding a murder investigation.

There are many lawyers in the group whose heads are completely fucked by delusion of grandeur, making unreasonable demands and provoking the police.

The face of a troublemaker, another one of Anwar's lackey.

The police had shown more than enough patience toward their rude and uncalled for behaviour and kindly invited their leaders to come in for discussion..... 

......and what did they do? 

They rejected the offer and decided to continue harassing and ridiculing the police.

The Indian lawmaker exhorted "Jangan main dengan saya, jangan main dengan PKR dan jangan main dengan Pakatan Rakyat."

Was he threatening the police that when Pakatan comes to power he would teach the police a good lesson.

As a friend said to me last night " These Pakatan people, they think they are already in Putrajaya" and I fully agree with his observation.

I bet if they lose, there would be massive street demonstration, accusing the BN of cheating and they would incite violence to try bring down the government.

We don't want another Egypt.....from the frying pan into the fire.

IGP Should Adopt Zero Tolerance On Rogue Policemen

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What is the responsibility of a policeman?

Undoubtedly, first and foremost, protecting the life and property of the people and responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the maintenance of public order.

When you are in trouble you look upon the police as your protector and saviour. That's what they are paid to do, to protect the public from criminal elements.  

One would not imagine being taken to a police station and gang-raped by policemen. 

You hear many horror stories of people dying in police custody and yet there have been very few serious internal investigations done by the police to resolve the problem and weed out bad elements in the police force. 

The IGP should take some responsibility of the misconduct of his men. There are just too many complaints against police misconduct for him to sit comfortably in his chair and do nothing constructive to salvage the police image, which have made the public to mistrust the whole police force because of the perverse behaviour of a few.

Though, we don't expect him to police each and every individual in the force, zero tolerance of indiscipline and waywardness by the top brass can drastically reduce shameful police misconduct among the lower rank. 

Obviously, some policemen think they can prey on the weak and the helpless as in the case of the hapless Indonesian girl who was stopped while on her way home in a taxi and practically abducted by three policemen with intent to use her to satisfy their lust. They took her to the police station, instead of giving her shelter and protection, raped her repeatedly. 

I hope justice will prevail for the poor girl and the three policemen if found guilty be given the maximum sentence under the law.

What Police Should Have Done The Day After.

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Apology, it is exactly what the Police should have done after the fatal shooting of 15-year old Amirulrashid Amzah.Not be on the defensive and used bullying tactic to try snuff public outcry.

In my posting "Sorry, Is A Word Never Said Wrong" I epitomized first step the Police should have taken was to apologise to the boy's family for the fatal mistake. Saying sorry does not mean admitting liability which I reckon was the reason the Police refused to do.

The police should seriously consider employing a spokesman or spokesperson who is well-trained in people's skills and public relation.With a spokesman, mistakes made at his level, could be corrected later by the police top brass.

Whether the policeman responsible for the shooting is guilty of homicide is for the court to decide, neither the police nor the public.

Neville Spykerman of Malaysian Insider has given a good sequential actions that the Police should have taken after the tragic shooting.

Below is his take on what should have been done that would have saved the police the public hostility and odium.

Aminulrasyid and the police public relations disaster — Neville Spykerman

May 11, 2010

MAY 11 — The fatal shooting of Aminulrasyid Amzah is fast becoming a public relations disaster case-study-cum-manual for the police on how not to handle a crisis.

The manual for the brass should start with;

— Acknowledging mistakes from the word go

The 14-year-old schoolboy was shot dead in the back of the head. Pointing out that Aminulrasyid was out joyriding in his sister’s car is not going to mitigate the gravity of the tragedy or the culpability of the police.

— Apologise

Instead of issuing a sincere apology to the family for their loss, the police went on a public relations offensive. First by claiming they acted in self defence because the dead boy had attempted to reverse into them when the shots were fire and secondly that a parang was found in the car.

— Avoid demonising the victim

To add salt to the wounds of his family — Aminulrasyid and 15-year-old Azamuddin Omar, who was in the car with him, were initially labelled as criminals.

No efforts have been made by police to clear their names to the dismay of their families.

— Handling the expected public backlash professionally

Did the police really expect the public, media and politicians to lay back and swallow the “official version” of what transpired in the early morning of April 26?

Public outrage was only to be expected.

But again police decided the best defence is to go on the offence.

They issued what DAP’s Lim Kit Siang described as a “ham-fisted and unwarranted warning to politicians and public not to make statements or to speculate on the incident because it would further undermine public confidence in police integrity and professionalism”.

— Avoid portraying the police as the real victims in the tragedy

Tan Sri Musa Hassan threat “to call his men off the streets, if that is what the people want” following the public backlash was both self defeating besides portraying the cops as bullies who are unable to accept criticism.

The Inspector-General of Police demonstrated his inability to empathise with grief of the victim’s family and widespread public anger.

— Keeping the family informed

Is it really so difficult for the police to pick up the phone and inform Aminulrasyid’s family about the developments of the case?

Did it not cross the minds of police that they owed the family that much?

Or did they think it’s sufficient for Aminulrasyid’s family to learn that a police corporal was charged in court yesterday for his death by reading about it the press?

The death of Aminulrasyid is and will continue to be a stain on the uniforms of the men-in-blue as long as they choose to repeat these mistakes.

* Neville Spykerman is a senior reporter with The Malaysian Insider.

Now, that the police have identified the policeman and let justice to take its course, the public should stop making an issue out of it.

Let justice takes its course.

Sorry, Is A Word Never Said Wrong

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It is sickening to find out the kind of lies those in higher authority are prepared to condone.

The IGP and Minister of Home Affairs have misaligned themselves by their hasty decisions to try protect those errant policemen and listened to their lies to try absolve themselves from the responsibility for the death of the innocent boy.The police should not get away with impunity.The IGP must show the people that no one is above the law including his policeman.

Malaysian Insider reported here a witness' version of events leading to the tragic shooting, Aminulrashid's friend who rode with him in the car but managed to escape after being assaulted by five policemen.He could have been dead as well.

The whole nation is watching and waiting for the next step Prime Minister Najib would take to satisfy public outcry over this gross dereliction of duty of both the IGP and the Home Minister.Their statements showed no concern for the feelings of the deceased family and public opinion. Such behaviour is ignominious.Both have poor people skills damaging Najib's efforts to endear the people to his administration.Arrogance,apathy and pomposity unfitting of a civil servant and a government minister.Least they forget, both are paid by taxpayer's money to protect the people not bully them when faced with a situation.

If Najib wants to survive the next general elections he must first arrest the deteriorating quality of his administration.Many of his ministers have exhausted their shelf-lives and unfit for the job.They are deadwood and still live in their fantasy land and think everything is hunky-dory without realising that every time they open their faulty mouths they made fools of themselves and foods for the oppositions and Najib losing his hair.

The BN and UMNO in particular is ubiquitously trapped in hierarchical politics. Promote its people to a level of incompetence.Many UMNO ministers have no people skills.They got all confused, where the cart and where the horse should be.They think the people owe it to them when it should be the other way round.Many can't work under pressure spoiled by over fifty years of nonchalant administration spoiled by the minimal opposition.Since March 2008 the political landscape has changed and with it the loss of their comfort zones.

It makes one wonder how people like Hisamuddin Onn, who has exceeded his effective scope, can rise to be given most crucial ministry where security of the nation and safety of the general public is placed in his hands.Peter Principal applied to him and a number of our ministers and civil servants including the former Home Minister who left his burning glass behind.

The IGP should not find justification and imputed righteousness in defending his men and retorted that the public did not show any appreciation to the police including for those killed in the line of duty.

Those are occupational hazards that came with that type of job and members of the public do sympathise.We gave our sympathy in silence. The IGP should not expect spontaneous public outcry every time a policeman got killed in the line of duty.

I have never met a nasty or rude policeman, those that I have encountered even at road blocks are pleasant and polite.Maybe, things are different in Sabah, where violent crimes may not be as high as in big city like Kuala Lumpur putting policemen under a lot of stress.Still, no reason for the IGP and minister to be on the defensive.

Najib should call for the resignation of both the IGP and Home Minister for mishandling of the case.

This is not the first time, there were many instances.The video below is the case of another victim Norizan, shot five times.Fortunately, with five bullets shot at her she survived.



Every life matters, no matter how small.Every parents, husband,wife,daughter and son suffered the loss of their loved ones.It's excruciatingly heart rending for those who has to face its reality.

I support the BN concept but I shall not be blinded.I don't and can't support this kind of behaviour.

Sorry, is a word never said wrong, which many of us have not learned to say when it's most needed.

Police Brutality Videos

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Police brutality exists everywhere.It is not something we should condone.Such waywardness and violent behaviour were the result of high-strung cops being given field jobs.

Police forces all over the world do not have systematic procedures to identify highly stressed,unstable and potently dangerous cops letting lose such errant cops on the streets making them even more lethal than the criminals.Another factor is the low standards set for entry into the force.I am not sure what the minimum educational requirement for our police.Maybe, someone can enlighten me on this.

Education does play important part in the making of a person.A cop with better education would better understand discipline and the rules of engagement.The police is supposed to protect us not endanger us

Malaysia is not alone in this shameful act of brutality and use of excessive force by the police.Suhakam reported 44 such deaths in 2009 which by any measure is excessively high.None of those involved in fatal shootings, at least not to my knowledge, has been pulled up for failure to adhere to the rules of engagement.

The famous police brutality caught on video was that of a known criminal Rodney King in Los Angeles.A portion of the footage was aired by news agencies around the world.All four officers were tried in state court but acquitted.The acquittal sparked the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.A federal court trail later sent two officers to prison and the other two acquitted.



Police brutality become common place in highly criminalised areas where police have to work under tremendous pressure.Such areas make police vulnerable to violent attacks by criminals.Still, there is nor reason for police to discharge firearm unless shot upon or the criminal is seen visibly armed.

The picture of police brutality in Malaysia is different from say the US or UK.Here, it is highly politicised by the oppositions not so much as a matter of concern but for political reason, more as material for gaining political mileage by running it down as branch of the government.Unfair as it may be, the oppositions have successfully painted the police as the bad boys.

I do not doubt there are some real videos of actual happenings of police brutality but some of the videos posted on YouTube on police beatings looked suspicious and may have been staged as part of the campaign to discredit the administration.

To restore public confidence the death of Amirulrashid should be thoroughly investigated by an independent commission of enquiry and the police should not cover up or refused to take punitive action against the policeman responsible.

Below are videos of police brutality from various part of the world.

The Exterminators

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Police brutality existed everywhere.There is often a racial or ethnic component to police abuses.In the US many cases of police brutality were results of racial profiling.In New York 78% of complaints against the police came from African-Americans and Latinos.The police force is almost 70% white.

In Malaysia the Indians seem to carry the brunt of police brutality, even less than that of the illegal immigrants.

Whatever the ethnicity or back ground of the victim is immaterial, police brutality should not be tolerated and must be fully investigated to bring to book those involved.Besides the police own investigation, there should be a parallel independent investigation team to ensure that there wouldn't be any cover up.

It makes one wonder what kind of training our policemen get that had made so many of them to act more like thugs and goons rather than policemen.Haris Ibrahim's of the The People's Parliament has the story and photos here. Susan Loone has her story here.Malaysian Insider has the story here.It is not a pretty sight and can make one very sick in the stomach and angry that such violent physical abuse can be inflicted on a handcuffed person.They have become tormentors and exterminators.A disgrace to the nation.These 'no school' idiots might not know that a suspect is not guilty until he is charged and taken to court for the court to decide, guilty or not guilty.

As there have been many cases of detainees dying in police lock up, someone in the police force should take responsibility and resign from the force.If you can't control your men than there is no point to stay on and disgrace yourself as an incompetent.

More story here and here.