malaysiakini: Shot dead by cops: Nameless no more

Shot dead by cops: Nameless no more

Dec 4, 10 5:05pm

It has long been known that of those shot dead by police, ethnic Indians made up a disproportionate number of the fatalities. Based on the recently released statistics by the police, that is true.

But for the first time, details such as the age, ethnicity and nationality of almost all 279 people - citizens as well as foreign nationals - who have been killed by the police from 2000 to 2009 were today revealed by human rights groups.

Malaysiakini has earlier reported that since 2001, there had been a 17-fold surge in fatal police shootings up to 2009, when as many as 88 persons were killed by police as compared to five in 2001.

According to statistics provided by police at the sedition trial of Hindraf chief P Uthayakumar earlier this week, there were a shocking 82 cases of fatal police shootings in 2008, followed by 88 such incidences in 2009.

Revealing the statistics today were Lawyers For Liberty (LFL), Suaram and opposition political party PKR, where it was pointed out that of the 279 persons shot dead, 21.8 percent (61 deaths) were ethnic Indians.

Malays and Chinese, on the other hand, made up 15 percent (42) and 18.6 (52) percent respectively.

Shooting deaths according to ethnicity

2000: Malays (4); Chinese (2) Indians (0)
2001: Malays (0); Chinese (1) Indians (3)
2002: Malays (6); Chinese (12); Indians (6)
2003: Malays (2); Chinese (4); Indians (7)
2004: Malays (2); Chinese (7); Indians (1)
2005: Malays (1); Chinese (4); Indians (4)
2006: Malays (2); Chinese (0); Indians (3)
2007: Malays (3); Chinese (4); Indians (4)
2008: Malays (7); Chinese (9); Indians (11)
2009: Malays (15); Chinese (9); Indians (23)

Total: Malays (42); Chinese (52); Indians (61)

A culture of impunity

Included in the statistics issued by the police on Nov 29 were Vikines Vesuanathan who at 19 in 2003 was shot dead in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan; Muhamad Nir Oth (sic) who was 19 when he was shot three years later in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur; and Mohd Arifudin Mohamad who was 19 when he was shot dead in Kuantan, Pahang, two years ago.

Among the more recent fatalities include 19-year-old Rames Raman who was shot in 2008 in Kulim, Kedah, as well as the April 26 shooting of 14-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah, Mohd Shamil Hafiz Shafie, 16, Mohd Khairul Nizam Tuah, 20, and Mohd Hanafi Omar, 22, by the police on Nov 20 in Shah Alam.

Pinning the blame squarely on the police and the Home Ministry for the tragic deaths of these youths, LFL member N Surendran said the only reason these yet unaccounted killings have occurred - and many more will occur - is the unwillingness of the authorities to deal with the culture of impunity and 'trigger-happy' elements in police force.

Wording it more bluntly, Surendran said: “Aminulrasyid was seven years old and in primary school, when Vikines was killed in 2003. If the authorities had taken action to prevent these extrajudicial killings since then, Aminulrasyid might be alive today.

“If they don't put a stop to these killings happening now, children who are in kindergarten this year may in just a few years down the road will end up dead from being shot by police,” the lawyer added.

Surendran was speaking to reporters after speaking at a press conference on the matter with Suaram coordinator Lucas Yap Heng Lung, PKR's Subang Jaya MP R Sivarasa and LFL member Fadiah Nadwa Fikri at the KL-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in Kuala Lumpur.

Almost half of those killed were foreigners

Also revealed by the rights groups today was the large number of foreign nationals shot dead by police whose cases rarely see the light of day in newspaper reports, if at all their identities are made known.

Almost half of those killed by the police in the last decade were foreign nationals - a total 121 or 43 percent.

Of these, slightly more than 40 percent (113) were Indonesians. The largest number of such fatalities took place in 2008 when 54 Indonesians (up from two in 2007) were shot dead by police.

Unlike the case with the Malaysians, the majority of the Indonesians killed, or about 60 percent, were not properly identified other than by their nationality. Those unidentified are without names and age.

“In short, human beings are being shot, being bundled up, and buried somewhere without even their identities being discovered. This shows that what has taken root in the police force is lawlessness,” said Surendran.

Other nationalities who have been killed over the last 10 years, according to the statistics, are Vietnamese (5), Filipinos (1), Thai (1), and 1 black-African (categorised as 'Negro' in the police statistics).

Need to set up IPCMC now

Comparing the numbers to the incidence of police shootings in other countries, Sivarasa said the lack of an independent body in Malaysia to investigate complaints against the police and police misconduct have resulted in the rot.

In New Zealand, for example, which has a population of only four million, there had been only 22 persons killed in police shootings over 70 years since 1941, said Sivarasa.

In UK, which has almost twice the population as Malaysia, there have been 48 deaths from police shootings over a period of 22 years, between 1985-2007, he added.

Sivarasah said the issue stems from the culture of impunity that has set into the institution of the police whereby a shoot-to-kill policy appears to have the consent, if not encouragement, of the upper levels of the force as well as the ruling politicians.

“This means that the police officers on the ground feel they can do whatever they want because they know they will not be held to account. Shoot, kill, and there will be no questions, no probe, so they continue.

“The inspector-general of police, the people responsible for the PDRM, will not raise these issues, and the politicians in charge - the home minister - will also not question them,” lamented the PKR leader.

He was referring to the denial by Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein that there had been a surge in police shooting fatalities when asked about it earlier this week.

On the lack of transparency on the issue, Sivarasa noted that the statistics were released by deputy director of the Criminal Investigations Department Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani at Uthayakumar's trial only after constant pressure from the latter's lawyers and a directive from the court itself.

Sivarasa said he and the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition will be raising the issue and will increase pressure on the government to put in place the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), which was recommended by a royal commission in 2005.

Lawyers for Liberty: Top 10 facts from the PDRM fatal shootings statistics (2000 – 2009)

06/12/2010

1. Lowest number of deaths: 5 (2001);
2. Second lowest number of deaths: 9 (2000);
3. Highest number of deaths: 88 (2009);
4. Second highest number of deaths: 82 (2008);
5. Total number of deaths from 2000 to 2009: 279 persons;
6. The increase from the lowest number of deaths at 5 (2001) to 88 (2009) is 17-fold;
7. Fatality percentages/ numbers according to race/ nationality:  Indonesians: 40.5% (113 deaths); Indians: 21.8% (61 deaths); Chinese: 18.6% (52 deaths); and Malays: 15% (42 deaths);
8. So Uthayakumar was right to say that Indians are disproportionate victims of fatal police shootings;
9. The number of deaths without proper identification: 80 victims;
10. A Liberian UNHCR registered refugee/ asylum seeker was killed in 2008, and classified under “Negro”!

TMI: Police shot dead 88 in 2009.... by Melissa Chi

Police shot dead 88 in 2009, lawyers reveal

By Melissa Chi

December 04, 2010

The Lawyers for Liberty group revealed the breakdown of fatal shootings from 2000 to 2009, as well as the identity of the victims, which they said was obtained from a reluctant Bukit Aman CID deputy director Datuk Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.

The senior police officer was a witness at the P. Uthayakumar sedition case last Monday where he revealed the data, which included details of race, nationalities, names and age. The most was 88 in 2009 with the least being five in 2001.

There was a slight fluctuation in numbers between five to 27 deaths prior to the year 2008. Out of the 279 suspects who were fatally shot in the last decade, 81 of them were unidentified.

One of them, a Liberian, classified under “Negro”, David Saah, was a refugee under UNHCER, United Nations’ refugee agency, one of the 82 recorded fatal shootings in 2008.

Lawyer for Liberty group member N. Surendran claimed the data proves that the police are above the law, in this country.

“This shows that what has taken root in the police force is a lawless tendency,” he said, calling it a threat to Malaysians and to the public order.

Subang MP R. Sivarasa, who was also at the press conference, called it a “culture of impunity”.

“It means that they feel that they can do as they wish and they won’t be held accountable... they can shoot, kill, and there won’t be any questions asked, there won’t be any investigations and that they can continue doing so,” he said.

The PKR lawmaker also claimed that the Home Minister was at the forefront of blindly defending the police force before any investigations were done.

Sivarasa attributed the high number of fatalities to the reluctance of the federal leaders to set up an efficient Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

The Malaysian Bar council had been calling to set up such independent body to “keep the police in check”.

Lucas Yap, a coordinator for Suaram, alleged that most of the police involved in the shootings were not in uniforms and did not fire warning shots, before fatally shooting the suspects.

Sivarasa highlighted that in many countries such as the UK, every shot fired by the police will automatically be investigated by the department. The officers would need to explain at length to its superior and file paperwork to justify his or her actions. The the shots had led to injuries or deaths, there will be a public inquest, which is a full court hearing.

“In Malaysia ... inquests are only mandatory for death in custody, that means you have to die in the lockup first,” he said bluntly. The most recent example of a public inquest is the one ongoing, on Teoh Beng Hock’s death under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) custody, last year.

As for the fatal police shootings, the most recent case involved Muhammad Hanafi Omar, 22, Muhammad Shamil Hafiz Shapiei, 15, and Hairul Nizam Tuah, 20, who were gunned down by the police after a reported high-speed car chase in the early morning of November 13 in Glenmarie, Shah Alam.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar had defended the police involved and said that they have responded well in foiling the bid of the gang from robbing a petrol station.

“As you can see, even before there is an investigation, the IGP has exonerated his men. So there is no intention of carrying out a proper investigation, there is no intention of finding out whether those shootings were done, are unlawful killing or murder, or was it actually done in self-defence. So this is why police feel they are able to go around shooting people and killing them in cold blood because immediately the highest police officer comes out defending them.

“They know they can commit murder without being called into account and that is a tremendous power to put in the hands of a human being to tell him that go ahead, commit murder, we will protect you,” Surendran said.

Prior to the trio’s deaths by shooting, 15-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah’s fatal shooting in April this year grabbed nationwide headlines and sparked a new public interest in such police shootings.

Besides Aminulrasyid, a second case involving the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Mohd Afham Arin in Johor Baru on October 20 last year has also surfaced after the victim’s mother recently demanded an independent commission to investigate the case.

Sivarasa said the current guidelines for the usage of firearms is under the Inspector-General of Police’s Standing Order and the document is classified.

Former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan had said that it will not be a problem to make the document public and that the public will no longer blindly blame the police of abuse, although the Home Minister was reported as saying that he had not received any proposal from the special task force overseeing police investigations into the fatal shooting of teenage Aminulrasyid to do so.

Fadia Nadwa Fikri from Lawyers for Liberty claimed that Suhakam, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, had asked the police to reveal the IGSO contents, but the request was rejected.

“It is shocking and they are not prepared to answer to the public what they have been doing all these while,” she said. Sivarasa said the only option now is for the public to put pressure on the political authorities responsible for Polis Di Raja Malaysia (PDRM).

“I’ve given up on PDRM. The only hope now is the political masters who are ultimately responsible to the rakyat and I think this is where the rakyat must demand accountability,” he said, pointing specifically to the Home Minister.

“The rakyat will ultimately hold him accountable,” he warned.

He accused the police involved in the shootings of viewing themselves as the “judge, jury and executioner”, calling it an “extrajudicial killing”.

“It is what you call a desperate response to an ineffective police force,” he said.