INQUESTS - the importance for incidents where persons are killed by reason of police shooting is HIGHLIGHTED in this case. How many INQUESTS thus far for cases where people died by reason of being shot dead by police????
The Coroner found that the police was criminally liable for the deaths -
The coroner’s court today concluded that there was abuse of power and elements of a criminal nature in the death of three men who were shot at close range by police three years ago.
Coroner Rasyihah Ghazali said, on the balance of probabilities, S Mahendran, G Thavaselvan and his brother-in-law J Vijayaratnam, a Sri Lankan national, died of gunshot wounds on their heads and chests.
“The shots were not fired in self-defence. There was abuse of power and (actions in the nature of) criminal elements by police in the death of the men,” she said this evening at the end of an inquest...
She said scientific evidence with regards to the position of the bodies and the weapons allegedly found on the two men did not tally with the oral testimonies of the policemen.
“The weapons described by the ballistic expert (Izzuwan Marzuki) and the investigating officer (P Visvanathan) were also in conflict,” she said.
She said police witnesses gave evidence that shots were fired at the men from an upright position but post-mortem reports stated that the bullets pierced their bodies at a downward angle.
This case also raises the problems when only the police investigates such incidents - the fact that the evidence given by police contradicted with the evidence given by others including 'ballistic experts' - HIGHLIGHTS why such shooting cases need an independent inquiry by a CORONER..
Coroner Rasyihah Ghazali acted FEARLESSLY - it took into account even expert evidence of ballistic experts - and did not simply rely on police witnesses or evidence. How many Coroners will do the same? She highlighted the contradiction of police witness ... ' She said scientific evidence with regards to the position of the bodies and the weapons allegedly found on the two men did not tally with the oral testimonies of the policemen.'
CORONER's REPORTS must be publicly available - much needed for public education/awareness, education of other Coroners about what can/must be done during inquiries, and also important for needed REFORM. Following this case - What is the SOP when it comes to usage of firearms by police - do police shoot to arrest, or do they shoot to KILL? - Law Journals should start reporting on Coroner's findings after an Inquest.
Anyway, Coroner's decision is out >>> so what is the Public Prosecutor doing? Are they investigating the said police officers? Will the said police officers be CHARGED for the Killing?
This is what Malaysians are waiting to know --- OR ARE THE POLICE ABOVE THE LAW - and no police officers will be charged.
The TIME LIMIT for suing the government is three(3) years - and that is why INQUESTS need to be speedily concluded. YES - the victim and/or their families can SUE the shooter police officers and the government to get damages and compensations ...
Cops abused power in shooting of 3 men, including Sri Lankan, coroner finds
SHAH ALAM: The coroner’s court today concluded that there was abuse of power and elements of a criminal nature in the death of three men who were shot at close range by police three years ago.
Coroner Rasyihah Ghazali said, on the balance of probabilities, S Mahendran, G Thavaselvan and his brother-in-law J Vijayaratnam, a Sri Lankan national, died of gunshot wounds on their heads and chests.
“The shots were not fired in self-defence. There was abuse of power and (actions in the nature of) criminal elements by police in the death of the men,” she said this evening at the end of an inquest.
Police had claimed there was an exchange of fire between policemen and the trio at the edge of a jungle in Rawang and that two of the men had been armed with pistols.
Rasyihah, however, said she was unable to conclude as to what had happened to G Moganambal, the wife of Vijayaratnam, who was reported missing after the incident and has yet to be found.
On Sept 14, the three men, whom police said were suspected to have been involved in armed robbery, were killed in a shootout with the police at Km22 of Jalan Rawang heading towards Batu Arang, following a 7km high-speed car chase.
The coroner said today the men died between 5.20am and 5.30am on Sept 14 based on evidence collected in the inquest.
She said scientific evidence with regards to the position of the bodies and the weapons allegedly found on the two men did not tally with the oral testimonies of the policemen.
“The weapons described by the ballistic expert (Izzuwan Marzuki) and the investigating officer (P Visvanathan) were also in conflict,” she said.
She said police witnesses gave evidence that shots were fired at the men from an upright position but post-mortem reports stated that the bullets pierced their bodies at a downward angle.
Rasyihah said, in totality, there were many disputable questions of fact regarding witness statements.
The four had left Kepong at about 10pm on Sept 13 after dinner to visit friends and relatives. Moganambal’s sister, Vasanthi, had testified that Moganambal sent a location map via her mobile phone at about 1am (Sept 14) that indicated they were at a food outlet in Serdang.
Vasanthi stated in her evidence that shop owner Senizam Md Yusof admitted meeting the four that morning. However, Senizam denied in court that he had met them at his premises.
Lawyer M Visvanathan, who held a watching brief for the family of Thavaselvan and Vijayaratnam, said he had instructions to file a civil suit following today’s verdict.
“We have four months to do so as the three-year limitation period to file a legal action against the government will set in by September,” said Visvanathan who was assisted by V Sanjay Nathan.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sean Dudley assisted the coroner. A total of 20 people gave evidence. - FMT, 31/5/2022
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