The 'shoot to kill' actions by the Malaysian police have long been condemned by Malaysians and justice loving persons. Worse still is the police alleged branding these persons as 'criminals' (suspects of alleged crimes are not criminals, as the law presumes innocence until proven guilty). Maybe, some proceedings should be instituted to confirm that these persons were in fact guilty of the crimes that they normally are alleged of being involved by the police in the media. These allegations should really never be made at all - more so since the allegations are being levied against persons already dead killed by the police.... and as such has no way of defending themselves against the alleged crimes they are supposed to have committed, or alleged to have been involved in.
When a person is shot dead by the police, the only question is whether the police were
justified in killing them - remembering always that the duty of the
police is only the arrest suspects.... The 'shoot to kill' conduct is unacceptable. It does not help
matters when we have many TV serials & movies that propagate that
it best to shoot and kill 'criminals' - as the criminal justice system
does not work and the bad guy with good lawyers can always get off scot free. This is a 'far right' position, and it certainly is not the Malaysian position for we believe in the rule of law.
Inquests (or rather public transparent independent inquiries) must certainly certainly be held to determine whether the police action that caused the deaths are justified. Do our police shoot to kill, or are they instructed to do the best to arrest the suspects? At which part of the body did they shoot?....
The excessive number of deaths by
police shootings cements, in the public mind, the perception that law
enforcement officers are either negligent or reckless in the
performance of their duties. Nothing less than an immediate, thorough,
impartial and transparent investigation that includes a holistic and
inclusive examination of all the relevant facts will assuage the
publics concern regarding the integrity and credibility of the police
force .- Ragunath Kesavan, President of the Malaysian Bar, 28 April 2010
The Royal
Malaysian Police and Malaysian government must now take steps to
observe the UN recommendations to a development of non-lethal
incapacitated weapons for use in appropriate situations, with a view
to restraint application of means, capable of causing death or injury
to persons. - Nora Murat,Executive Director of Amnestry International Malaysia
Do Malaysian police have tasers, etc ....i.e. non-lethal weapons capable of incapacitating suspects who then can be arrested and NOT killed?
298 shot dead by police since 2007
Posted on 23 October 2012 - 09:04pm
Last updated on 24 October 2012 - 08:16am
Karen Arukesamy, Hemananthani Sivanandam and Pauline Wong at the Dewan Rakyat
KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 23, 2012): Nearly 300 people have been shot dead by the police since 2007, with a large number of them being Indonesians.
In a written reply, the Home Ministry said a total of 298 people of
various nationalities were shot dead between 2007 and August this year.
Out of this number, Indonesians accounted for 151 alleged criminals who
were shot dead.
Malaysians were the second largest group with 134 people, followed by
Vietnamese (five), Myanmarese (three), Thais (two), Nigerian (one),
Liberian (one) and another person of unknown nationality.
"In 2007, a total of 13 people were shot dead, while in 2008 ( 85),
2009 (88), 2010 (45), 2011 (30) and up to August this year (37).
The ministry was replying to Dr Michael Jeyakumar (PSM-Sungai Siput)
who had asked to state the number of people shot dead by police between
2007 and 2012 according to nationality, age, gender, the type of
offences and the place they were shot.
He also asked if the ministry plans to have an inquest for the cases.
Of the 298 people shot dead, the age of 116 could not be determined
while 179 were between 19 and 60 years old. Only three were between 16
and 18 years old. None were 60 or older. Of the total number shot, only
two were women.
The ministry also said 53 people were shot in Selangor, followed by
in Kuala Lumpur (16), Johor (14), Penang (14), Perak (11) and Negri
Sembilan (10).
"As for inquests, that is to be determined by the courts."
Cops killed nearly 300 since 2007
More than half of those shot dead were Indonesians, Hisham tells Parliament.
KUALA LUMPUR: Police have killed nearly 300 people since 2007, Parliament was told.
More than half of those killed were Indonesians, according to figures
provided by Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein in a written
reply to Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj (PSM-Sungai Siput) yesterday.
He said that Indonesians accounted for 151 out of a total of 298 alleged criminals shot dead between 2007 and August 2012.
Malaysians accounted for the second largest group, with 134 people
dead. Next come Vietnamese (5), Myanmarese (3) and Thais (2). During the
same period, police also killed one Nigerian, one Liberian and another
person of unknown nationality.
Most of the fatal shootings occurred in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, 26
Malaysians and 58 Indonesians were killed. In 2009, 48 Malaysians and 34
Indonesians were killed.
Of the total, 142 people were aged between 21 and 40. Three were between 16 and 18 years. None was 60 or older.
Only two of the 298 were women.
It was also revealed that a large number of the cases involving
people getting shot are from Selangor (53 cases). They were followed by
Kuala Lumpur police (16), Johor (14), Penang (14) and Perak (11).
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