'Shoot to kill' incidents have always been the concern of human rights advocates, including the Bar Council.
Since GE14, we have a new ALTERNATIVE government - the Pakatan Harapan government, and now we also have a new Attorney General and a new Home Minister(who is responsible for the police)...Will there be changes? Or will they simply follow the old UMNO-BN ways - for after all, many of these victims of police shootings resulting in death are 'small people' - not the 'big shots'.
Since GE14, I have come across 2 incidents of police shooting that resulted in death...and sadly, we did not hear anything from our PH MPs and/or ADUNs...
Our Home Minister Muhyiddin, to date, has still not spoken up about how this new government will deal with these possibly 'shoot to kill' incidences. What was the truth? Did the police go armed to kill...or did they really use 'reasonable force' to arrest but sadly the victims were killed? Was it a reasonable action by the police...it is sad, that soon after such incidences, the police comes out to 'justify' that these people were really 'bad people' who committed other serious crimes...
Again, according to media reports on 16/5/2018 and another on 19/5/2018, our Malaysian police are involved in possible 'shoot to kill' incidents....and then, the usual attempt to justify their deaths ...with links to past crimes. (After all, the dead cannot defend themselves).
Senior lawyer and former Bar Council president Raja Aziz Addruse says that proper justification must be given for the taking of a life. “Just to say, ‘Because they were shooting at me,’ is insufficient,” he says. “In many of these cases, there’s always a gun found in the car. It’s just too coincidental. Very often, all the people allegedly involved are killed.”
The police is supposed to arrest people - and only reasonable force is permissible to effect an arrest. What is most disturbing is the fact that in most of such incident - every victim dies, seldom(if any) do we hear of someone shot and arrested...
In the first incident, it so happened that a D9 unit was involved? In the 2nd incident, how did the police even know that this was one of the persons involved in the Damansara Jaya goldsmith robbery - I certainly did not see any media report that the police were looking for so and so in connection with the robbery?
Muhyiddin - our new Home Minister, who is also in charge of the police - WHAT WILL BE DONE NOW? Will there be an 'independent inquiry' - not simply an investigation by the police?
Raja Aziz also cites the need for an independent tribunal to look into police shootings. “In other countries, an independent inquiry would be held to find out what happened,” he says. “For example, in the UK, an inquiry was held in the case of the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.” The inquiry eventually found the Met police force guilty of endangering public safety, and it was penalised for shooting de Menezes dead.
The late Raja Aziz also pointed out that EAIC was insufficient, a point that is still relevant today...After all, even recent inquiries into death in police custody, where the EAIC recomended criminal action against police involved...has yet to be acted on..
Raja Aziz says the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) is inadequate to monitor the police, as its jurisdiction is too general. “With the rampant abuses that have been perpetuated by the police, there should be a proper, separate commission,” he says. “Also, police officers have much greater powers than those in other agencies such as the MACC, immigration or customs.”
If Home Minister, is not up to this very needed task, maybe PM Mahathir should consider some other more capable MP to be the Minister...but let us give Muhyiddin a chance - there is much changes that must happen in NEW Malaysia...
The Home Minister and the new government must really tell us what they are going to do with these latest 'shoot to kill' incidents. Investigations need to be prompt - and independent...
See some other relevant earlier posts:- (Death in Custody will be dealt in greater depth possibly in a later post)
Police officers that killed Syed Mohd Azlan, and tried to hide a crime? What happened?Police officers that tortured and killed detainee - what will the AG and the Malaysian government do?
Cepat tindakan kes bunuh lelaki korea, kenapa lambat tuduh polis/pembunuh Syed Mohd Azlan?
Cops kill two robbers in shootout
Crime scene: Passers-by watching the officers on duty at the scene of the shooting near Rawang.
PETALING
JAYA: A routine early morning crime prevention round by a team of
policemen led to a shootout with two heavily armed robbers who were
eventually shot dead.
At around 3am yesterday, police personnel from Bukit Aman Serious Crimes Division (D9) out on a crime prevention round noticed the occupants inside a car acting suspiciously near the Kundang night market area in Rawang.
After tailing them for about 2km along Jalan Lagong, the officers managed to stop the car at a bend on the road.
However, after police verbally identified themselves, the two male suspects, aged 40 and 41, started shooting at the officers, which resulted in an exchange of gunfire that saw the two suspects killed.
According to Selangor CID chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Adnan
Abdullah, police believed that the two men were preparing for a robbery,
judging from the items seized in their vehicle.
“We found a .38 (calibre) handgun near one of the suspects with four spent casings and a live round.
The other suspect, believed to be the driver, was found with a firearm tucked under his waist,” said DCP Mohd Adnan.
While inspecting the suspects’ car, the cops also found various weapons.
“We recovered a machete, two knives, a metal rod, gloves and a ski mask,” said DCP Mohd Adnan.
Also found was a licence plate with the number WTG 9832.
DCP Mohd Adnan said the plate could have been used during robberies to throw off the police.
Investigations showed that one of the suspects was a wanted man with four prior cases on his record.
Further investigations also found that the car used by the two suspects was reported stolen back in 2014. - Star, 16/5/2018
At around 3am yesterday, police personnel from Bukit Aman Serious Crimes Division (D9) out on a crime prevention round noticed the occupants inside a car acting suspiciously near the Kundang night market area in Rawang.
After tailing them for about 2km along Jalan Lagong, the officers managed to stop the car at a bend on the road.
However, after police verbally identified themselves, the two male suspects, aged 40 and 41, started shooting at the officers, which resulted in an exchange of gunfire that saw the two suspects killed.
“We found a .38 (calibre) handgun near one of the suspects with four spent casings and a live round.
The other suspect, believed to be the driver, was found with a firearm tucked under his waist,” said DCP Mohd Adnan.
While inspecting the suspects’ car, the cops also found various weapons.
“We recovered a machete, two knives, a metal rod, gloves and a ski mask,” said DCP Mohd Adnan.
Also found was a licence plate with the number WTG 9832.
DCP Mohd Adnan said the plate could have been used during robberies to throw off the police.
Investigations showed that one of the suspects was a wanted man with four prior cases on his record.
Further investigations also found that the car used by the two suspects was reported stolen back in 2014. - Star, 16/5/2018
Malaysia cops shoot dead third suspect in Damansara Jaya goldsmith robbery
PETALING JAYA (BERNAMA, THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The police have
shot dead the third of about eight people involved in a robbery on
Friday (May 18) at a goldsmith shop in a shopping mall in Damansara Jaya near here.
The 22-year-old man was overcome in a gun battle between him and pursuing policemen in Bukit Beruntung, Hulu Selangor, at about 1am on Saturday, said Selangor CID chief SAC Fadzil Ahmat.
The police shot dead two of the robbers and arrested four of them as they were fleeing after the robbery at about 5pm yesterday.
SAC Fadzil said that in the latest incident, policemen from the
Selangor Police Serious Crimes Investigation Division (D9) had chased
the suspect as he sped off in a Honda Civic car, which
eventually skidded and crashed into a tree.
"The suspect came out of the vehicle and opened fire at the policemen. The policemen returned fire and killed the suspect," he said in a statement.
He said the policemen recovered a revolver with three rounds of ammunition and three spent bullet shells and some jewellery, apparently part of the loot.
"The suspect had two past criminal records," he said.
At about 5pm yesterday, six men wearing full-face helmets, three of them armed with pistols, stormed into the goldsmith shop at the mall in Damansara Jaya.
The police shot dead two of the robbers and arrested four of them as they were fleeing after the robbery.
It is believed that more than eight men were involved in the robbery.
Selangor Criminal Investigation Department chief Fadzil Ahmad said that the suspects are part of a crime syndicate, which has been active in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Negeri Sembilan since 2017.
"So far, this group is involved in eight goldsmith robbery cases since last year. We believe there are other suspects who are still at large and we are hunting them," he added.
No police officers were injured from the shootout.
A witness, who wished to remain anonymous, saw the suspects carrying hammers and black-coloured bags into the mall.
"They were walking slowly and once they were inside the mall, they ran towards the goldsmith," he said. "When we heard the sound of breaking glass, we ran towards a storeroom and hid."
Senior Asst Commissioner Fadzil said that the police have not ruled out that the robbery was an inside job, as investigations are ongoing.
He said that the stolen jewellery has been recovered by the police and the goldsmith is trying to ascertain the total value of losses incurred from the incident.
Another witness, tech journalist Sharmila Ganapathy, said she heard the shots coming from a goldsmith shop on the ground floor at about 5.15pm.
Twitter user Ridhwa Huda posted a tweet at 5.27pm, saying she had witnessed an exchange of gunfire between police and unknown persons.
"Oh my God. Police are shooting live in front of us. My heart feels like falling out," she wrote in Malay.
https://twitter.com/ridhwaMR/status/997406350731755520 "At Atria mall. Thought people were playing firecrackers. But seems like (a) real pistol," she added. "Wanted to go home, but police warned, 'Don't go out.'" - Straits Times, 19/5/2018
Norizan Salleh (file pic)
POLICE-shooting victim Norizan Salleh
never imagined she would ever be shot at. She describes how she felt
lying on a highway near Gombak on 30 Oct 2009 after being shot five
times by the police while on her way home: “I kept asking myself,
‘Betul ke, saya kena tembak? Is this what it feels like?’
“I felt my body and saw blood on my hands. My breath was becoming shallower and my hands were very cold. I wondered, ‘Is this how it feels like to die?'” Norizan tells The Nut Graph.
Norizan isn’t the only person to have been shot by the police in
2009. In August, two men were gunned down when they reportedly charged
at the police with machetes after committing armed robbery in Shah Alam. Then on 8 Nov, police shot dead five men in Klang, also alleged armed robbers. Just a week later, police fatally shot a man who had reportedly run amok with a dagger in Guar Sanji, Perlis.
While we would certainly like to see less armed robbers and criminals on the streets, does it have to involve the police shooting suspects dead? Are there alternative means of apprehending these suspects alive? And who is policing the police to ensure that they are not indiscriminately using their weapons, thereby causing unnecessary deaths in the process?
Numbers game
Charles Santiago (file pic)According to Klang MP Charles Santiago, media reports show there were 39 deaths from police shootings in 2009. A Suaram press statement says in 2008, there were 44 such deaths. On average, that’s more than three deaths a month. And that’s not taking into account unreported shootings and deaths in police custody.
Yes, the police must surely have a right to defend themselves and those whom they protect from suspected criminals when life is being threatened. But why is the death rate from police shootings so high in Malaysia? Consider this. In countries like the United Kingdom, with more than twice our population, there was only one fatal shooting by the police in 2006. In some years, there were none at all.
Unanswered questions
Suaram coordinator Lucas Yap says that the killing of individuals by
unlawful police shootings is a common occurrence in Malaysia, although
the precise number is difficult to ascertain.
“The circumstances of police shootings in Malaysia indicate that the police do not try to apprehend suspects alive but shoot with the intention to kill,” Yap tells The Nut Graph in an e-mail interview. “In virtually all cases of shooting deaths, the police claim that the suspects were armed and dangerous, that the suspects shot first, and that return fire was necessary.”
“Of course, police say they shoot in self-defence…But there are instances where it is difficult to justify their actions. Shooting is something that should be avoided,” Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) commissioner Datuk Siva Subramaniam tells The Nut Graph in a phone interview.
Senior lawyer and former Bar Council president Raja Aziz Addruse says that proper justification must be given for the taking of a life. “Just to say, ‘Because they were shooting at me,’ is insufficient,” he says. “In many of these cases, there’s always a gun found in the car. It’s just too coincidental. Very often, all the people allegedly involved are killed.”
Siva Subramaniam“Police must justify how they use their firearms,” Raja Aziz says. “It doesn’t mean that in all these cases, they have to shoot to kill.”
Yap says that even if the claims of armed suspects are true, the police could consider other means of neutralising suspects, such as by using stun guns, tranquiliser shots or tear gas that are not lethal. “In the limited circumstances where shootings are warranted by law, suspects could be shot in the legs or arms and captured alive,” Yap adds.
“Whatever it is, a shoot-to-kill policy is against human rights,” says Siva. “The right to life is one of the basic rights which we should have to ensure.”
Accountability
Yap says that if suspects are shot dead by police, inquests must be held within a month to determine whether the police made any efforts to apprehend suspects alive. In the long run, a coroner’s court should be set up to investigate all deaths involving the police.
“Where killings are found to be avoidable, the police must be held accountable for their action,” Yap says.
Raja Aziz also cites the need for an independent tribunal to look into police shootings. “In other countries, an independent inquiry would be held to find out what happened,” he says. “For example, in the UK, an inquiry was held in the case of the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.” The inquiry eventually found the Met police force guilty of endangering public safety, and it was penalised for shooting de Menezes dead.
Raja Aziz says the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) is inadequate to monitor the police, as its jurisdiction is too general. “With the rampant abuses that have been perpetuated by the police, there should be a proper, separate commission,” he says. “Also, police officers have much greater powers than those in other agencies such as the MACC, immigration or customs.”
Written guidelines
Lucas Yap (pic courtesy of Lucas Yap)So what aspects would a tribunal scrutinise in a police shooting?
Yap cites the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials as a guide.
“Intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life,” states Article 9 of the basic principles. The article states that discharging firearms is meant as a last resort, when less extreme means of protecting lives have proven insufficient.
Article 10 goes on to state that in using firearms, “officials shall identify themselves as such and give a clear warning on their intent to use firearms, with sufficient time for the warning to be observed.”
This must be adhered to unless to do so “unduly places the law enforcement officials at risk or would create a risk of death or serious harm to other persons…”
Malaysia’s written guidelines for the police on the use of firearms is supposedly a “restricted” document which the public cannot access.
“So far, we have not managed to get a copy of the written procedures,” says Siva. “This will be brought up during our meeting with the police.” Attempts by The Nut Graph to get a copy from the Home Minister also went unanswered.
Political will
Raja Aziz says unless the government has the political will to deal with these issues regarding the police, nothing will change.
Hishammuddin Hussein (file pic)He recalls writing an article on a spate of deaths by police shootings in the late 1990s. “…[then Prime Minister Tun Dr] Mahathir Mohamad openly criticised me saying, ‘Wait until someone holds a gun to his head.’ If this is the attitude of the prime minister of the time and the government, nothing is going to be done.”
Recently, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein reportedly said that police would be responsible for their actions, including shooting criminals in self-defence.
But with no inquest or inquiry in sight for the numerous deaths by police shootings, one has to wonder, just what does that mean? - The Nut Graph, 22/3/2010
The 22-year-old man was overcome in a gun battle between him and pursuing policemen in Bukit Beruntung, Hulu Selangor, at about 1am on Saturday, said Selangor CID chief SAC Fadzil Ahmat.
The police shot dead two of the robbers and arrested four of them as they were fleeing after the robbery at about 5pm yesterday.
"The suspect came out of the vehicle and opened fire at the policemen. The policemen returned fire and killed the suspect," he said in a statement.
He said the policemen recovered a revolver with three rounds of ammunition and three spent bullet shells and some jewellery, apparently part of the loot.
At about 5pm yesterday, six men wearing full-face helmets, three of them armed with pistols, stormed into the goldsmith shop at the mall in Damansara Jaya.
The police shot dead two of the robbers and arrested four of them as they were fleeing after the robbery.
It is believed that more than eight men were involved in the robbery.
Selangor Criminal Investigation Department chief Fadzil Ahmad said that the suspects are part of a crime syndicate, which has been active in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Negeri Sembilan since 2017.
"So far, this group is involved in eight goldsmith robbery cases since last year. We believe there are other suspects who are still at large and we are hunting them," he added.
No police officers were injured from the shootout.
A witness, who wished to remain anonymous, saw the suspects carrying hammers and black-coloured bags into the mall.
"They were walking slowly and once they were inside the mall, they ran towards the goldsmith," he said. "When we heard the sound of breaking glass, we ran towards a storeroom and hid."
Senior Asst Commissioner Fadzil said that the police have not ruled out that the robbery was an inside job, as investigations are ongoing.
He said that the stolen jewellery has been recovered by the police and the goldsmith is trying to ascertain the total value of losses incurred from the incident.
Another witness, tech journalist Sharmila Ganapathy, said she heard the shots coming from a goldsmith shop on the ground floor at about 5.15pm.
Twitter user Ridhwa Huda posted a tweet at 5.27pm, saying she had witnessed an exchange of gunfire between police and unknown persons.
"Oh my God. Police are shooting live in front of us. My heart feels like falling out," she wrote in Malay.
https://twitter.com/ridhwaMR/status/997406350731755520 "At Atria mall. Thought people were playing firecrackers. But seems like (a) real pistol," she added. "Wanted to go home, but police warned, 'Don't go out.'" - Straits Times, 19/5/2018
Are the police shooting to kill?
By Ding Jo-Ann
| 22 March 2010
|
Norizan Salleh (file pic)
“I felt my body and saw blood on my hands. My breath was becoming shallower and my hands were very cold. I wondered, ‘Is this how it feels like to die?'” Norizan tells The Nut Graph.
While we would certainly like to see less armed robbers and criminals on the streets, does it have to involve the police shooting suspects dead? Are there alternative means of apprehending these suspects alive? And who is policing the police to ensure that they are not indiscriminately using their weapons, thereby causing unnecessary deaths in the process?
Numbers game
Charles Santiago (file pic)According to Klang MP Charles Santiago, media reports show there were 39 deaths from police shootings in 2009. A Suaram press statement says in 2008, there were 44 such deaths. On average, that’s more than three deaths a month. And that’s not taking into account unreported shootings and deaths in police custody.
Yes, the police must surely have a right to defend themselves and those whom they protect from suspected criminals when life is being threatened. But why is the death rate from police shootings so high in Malaysia? Consider this. In countries like the United Kingdom, with more than twice our population, there was only one fatal shooting by the police in 2006. In some years, there were none at all.
Unanswered questions
“The circumstances of police shootings in Malaysia indicate that the police do not try to apprehend suspects alive but shoot with the intention to kill,” Yap tells The Nut Graph in an e-mail interview. “In virtually all cases of shooting deaths, the police claim that the suspects were armed and dangerous, that the suspects shot first, and that return fire was necessary.”
“Of course, police say they shoot in self-defence…But there are instances where it is difficult to justify their actions. Shooting is something that should be avoided,” Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) commissioner Datuk Siva Subramaniam tells The Nut Graph in a phone interview.
Senior lawyer and former Bar Council president Raja Aziz Addruse says that proper justification must be given for the taking of a life. “Just to say, ‘Because they were shooting at me,’ is insufficient,” he says. “In many of these cases, there’s always a gun found in the car. It’s just too coincidental. Very often, all the people allegedly involved are killed.”
Siva Subramaniam“Police must justify how they use their firearms,” Raja Aziz says. “It doesn’t mean that in all these cases, they have to shoot to kill.”
Yap says that even if the claims of armed suspects are true, the police could consider other means of neutralising suspects, such as by using stun guns, tranquiliser shots or tear gas that are not lethal. “In the limited circumstances where shootings are warranted by law, suspects could be shot in the legs or arms and captured alive,” Yap adds.
“Whatever it is, a shoot-to-kill policy is against human rights,” says Siva. “The right to life is one of the basic rights which we should have to ensure.”
Accountability
Yap says that if suspects are shot dead by police, inquests must be held within a month to determine whether the police made any efforts to apprehend suspects alive. In the long run, a coroner’s court should be set up to investigate all deaths involving the police.
“Where killings are found to be avoidable, the police must be held accountable for their action,” Yap says.
Raja Aziz also cites the need for an independent tribunal to look into police shootings. “In other countries, an independent inquiry would be held to find out what happened,” he says. “For example, in the UK, an inquiry was held in the case of the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.” The inquiry eventually found the Met police force guilty of endangering public safety, and it was penalised for shooting de Menezes dead.
Raja Aziz says the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) is inadequate to monitor the police, as its jurisdiction is too general. “With the rampant abuses that have been perpetuated by the police, there should be a proper, separate commission,” he says. “Also, police officers have much greater powers than those in other agencies such as the MACC, immigration or customs.”
Written guidelines
Lucas Yap (pic courtesy of Lucas Yap)So what aspects would a tribunal scrutinise in a police shooting?
Yap cites the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials as a guide.
“Intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life,” states Article 9 of the basic principles. The article states that discharging firearms is meant as a last resort, when less extreme means of protecting lives have proven insufficient.
Article 10 goes on to state that in using firearms, “officials shall identify themselves as such and give a clear warning on their intent to use firearms, with sufficient time for the warning to be observed.”
This must be adhered to unless to do so “unduly places the law enforcement officials at risk or would create a risk of death or serious harm to other persons…”
Malaysia’s written guidelines for the police on the use of firearms is supposedly a “restricted” document which the public cannot access.
“So far, we have not managed to get a copy of the written procedures,” says Siva. “This will be brought up during our meeting with the police.” Attempts by The Nut Graph to get a copy from the Home Minister also went unanswered.
Political will
Raja Aziz says unless the government has the political will to deal with these issues regarding the police, nothing will change.
Hishammuddin Hussein (file pic)He recalls writing an article on a spate of deaths by police shootings in the late 1990s. “…[then Prime Minister Tun Dr] Mahathir Mohamad openly criticised me saying, ‘Wait until someone holds a gun to his head.’ If this is the attitude of the prime minister of the time and the government, nothing is going to be done.”
Recently, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein reportedly said that police would be responsible for their actions, including shooting criminals in self-defence.
But with no inquest or inquiry in sight for the numerous deaths by police shootings, one has to wonder, just what does that mean? - The Nut Graph, 22/3/2010
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