Friday, February 28, 2025

Muhammad Atif(found dead in a Surau) - No INQUEST yet? Police fails to apprehend and prosecute 'killers' after more than 2 years?

If the responsible CORONER(Magistrate) has yet to ACT on receipt of report of this death - Action ought to be taken against the said Coroner? 

Besides the police investigating the death, the Coroner independently ought to inquire into the death - 'A Magistrate holding an inquiry shall inquire when, where, how and after what manner the deceased came by his death and also whether any person is criminally concerned in the cause of the death.' s.337 Criminal Procedure Code.

If you made a police report - then, now in Malaysia, on request, the police is duty bound to provide you with a status of the investigation of the offence....

107A  Report on status of investigation (Criminal Procedure Code)

(1) Any person who has given information under section 107 may request for a report on the status of the investigation of the offence complained of in his information from the officer in charge of a police station where he gave the information.

(2) The officer in charge of a police station shall give a status report on the investigation of such offence to the informant not later than two weeks from the receipt of the request made under subsection (1)....

And, if the police do not give you the status report ...report to the Public Prosecutor, and you will get the status report...

(4) Where a request has been made under subsection (1) and the officer in charge of the police station has failed to furnish the informant with a status report within the period specified in subsection (2), but subject to subsection (3), the informant may make a report to the Public Prosecutor of the failure.

(5) Upon receipt of the report under subsection (4), the Public Prosecutor shall direct the Officer in charge of the Police District to furnish him with a detailed status report on the investigation that has been conducted by the police in relation to the offence in the information given by the informant.

(6) The Public Prosecutor shall cause to be furnished to the informant, or direct the Officer in charge of the Police District to furnish to the informant, a status report containing such information as may be directed by the Public Prosecutor.

In the case of the death, possible MURDER, the victim went missing from a student accommodation, and his body was found in a SURAU. Did the police fail to find any witnesses or evidence, CCTV footages, etc...? This raises the questions of the COMPETENCE of the Malaysian police - do we need better and more professional police with required investigating skills.

Was there lesser attention placed because this was no 'important' person - just an ordinary Malaysian? The Home Minister and PM ought to look into this.

NFA(No Further Action) does not mean the investigations are closed - rather 'temporarily stayed' until further evidence emerges. This happens when the police has done its best to investigate and reasonable time has passed, and they are not making any progress...

Problem now, is that many people who report crimes, even small crimes that their neighbor had trespassed into their property and built fences - a crime that is obvious, and the police can act - but then, the police tell them 'NFA" and tell them to go court, etc... This NFAs is a problem, and it pushes people to lose trust in the police and law enforcement - and resort to 'SELF HELP', which is dangerous and may lead to the breaking of laws - worse when it happens by reason of police or law enforcement failure to act and resolve problems.. 

Whether the victim is a 'small' person or a celebrity/politician, the police and law enforcement need to ACT and resolve the violation of law effectively - hence restoring public confidence in the law and law enforcement. 

In the case of Atif - did the police use maximum effort to find the culprits. Did the police go around on foot and meet people trying to find witnesses at the hostel, on the way to the Surau or at the Surau? Did they appeal or make a public appeal in their quest to find witnesses? Did they check all CCTV cameras between the hostel and the Surau where the body was found.

CORONER's inquest is important - but more important is for the POLICE to exercise its BEST EFFORTS to find the culprits or potential suspects...

The lacksadical attitude in investigating missing persons can cause the police to be guilty of ENFORCED disappearance..

Should not failure of police to properly investigate a CRIME also be made a CRIME with a deterrent sentence?  

 

Joint Press Statement by Eliminating Death and Abuse in Custody Together (EDICT) and Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement (TBH-ADA) 
 
27th February 2025 , Parliament of Malaysia

EDICT and TBH-ADA stand in solidarity with the family of Abu Bakar Ja'afar in advocating for justice in the death of his son, Muhammad Atif. 
 
We call for the immediate convening of a death inquiry (inquest) in the Coroner’s Court pursuant to the Criminal Procedure Code into Atif’s tragic death.

Atif was 20-years-old and was studying at the Institut Latihan Perindustrian Mersing (ILP Mersing). On 18 December 2022, Atif went missing from the student accommodation in ILP Mersing. His family members rushed to Mersing to search for him but to no avail. The following day, Atif’s body was discovered in a surau in Mersing, Johor. 

A post-mortem was then conducted on Atif’s remains and his cause of death was determined to be “traumatic asphyxia” with 53 marks of injury. Atif’s family believes that Atif was beaten to death by persons unknown and hoped that police investigations would shed light on this.  

However, despite waiting for more than 2 years, Atif’s family had not received any updates from the police. 
 
On 15 September 2024, Abu Bakar and Atif’s brother lodged respective police reports regarding Atif’s death. Shockingly on the same day, the police have inexplicably classified the case as “NFA” (no further action) without providing any clear explanation, leaving the family in the dark about the full circumstances of Atif’s death.

Undeterred, Abu Bakar sought legal counsel and filed an application in the High Court of Malaya in Johor Bahru to compel an inquest to be held into Atif’s death. Abu Bakar’s application was met with strenuous objections from the Attorney-General’s Chambers and his application was subsequently dismissed by the High Court. The matter is now pending on appeal before the Court of Appeal. 

Thus far, Atif’s family's attempts to seek justice have been met with silence and/or resistance from the police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers. Whilst the Attorney-General’s Chambers had indicated that an inquest will be held via a letter dated 17 November 2024 to his solicitors, Abu Bakar Ja'afar has to date not received any further communication from the authorities regarding the same. The family had also not received any information regarding any charges being brought against the perpetrators of Atif’s death. Atif’s family finds this lack of action by the authorities completely unacceptable. 

We at EDICT and TBH-ADA hereby demand that a death inquiry (inquest) pursuant to the Criminal Procedure Code be conducted immediately to investigate the true cause of Atif’s death. It is vital for the family to know how, when, why, and under what circumstances he died. 

This breakdown in the administration of justice, as evidenced by the authorities' failure to act, must be addressed seriously. We call on the Attorney-General’s Chambers to take immediate steps to ensure that the truth is uncovered, and justice is served for Atif and his grieving family.
 
 
Family, rights groups demand update on probe into trainee's death
Alyaa Alhadjri
Published:  Feb 27, 2025 4:30 PM
Updated: 4:01 PM

Summary

  • Family members, rights groups, and Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung highlight the lack of updates on the investigation of the death of a 20-year-old student in Mersing, Johor, three years ago.

  • They say the authorities’ perceived lack of action is unacceptable and urge them to act immediately.


Family members of the late Atif Abu Bakar, a 20-year-old industrial trainee allegedly beaten to death by unknown assailants in Mersing, Johor, three years ago, are seeking urgent updates to their application for an inquest.

Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung, together with representatives from Eliminating Deaths and Abuse in Custody Together (Edict) and Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement, today raised the family’s plight at a press conference in Parliament.

Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung (centre) with the family of Atif Abu Bakar and rights groups representatives

“We urge the government, particularly the Attorney-General’s Chambers, to take immediate steps to uncover the truth and ensure that justice is served to Atif and his grieving family,” said Lee who read a joint statement prepared by the two organisations.

According to the groups, Atif, a student at the Mersing Industrial Training Centre went missing from his student accommodation on Dec 18, 2022, and his body was discovered the following day at a surau in Mersing.

A post-mortem determined Atif’s cause of death as “traumatic asphyxia” with 53 marks of injury, leading the family to believe he was beaten to death by unknown persons.

Met later, Edict executive director M Visvanathan, who is also representing Atif’s family, said the perceived lack of action by authorities is unacceptable.

Edict executive director M Visvanathan

“If you write to tell us the inquest will be conducted in November, why has it not been conducted yet?

“It has been over two years since the incident, so how long more?” he said.

The family’s revision application at the Johor Bahru High Court to compel an inquest into the death was filed after the police allegedly refused to investigate the case. - Malaysiakini, 27/2/2025

MP calls for inquest into 2022 death of industrial trainee


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By HO JIA WEN, TARRENCE TANGERARD GIMINO
  • Nation
  • Thursday, 27 Feb 2025

 

KUALA LUMPUR: A Member of Parliament has called for an inquest without further delay over the death of industrial trainee Muhammad Atif Abu Bakar in December 2022.

Petaling MP Lee Chean Chung said the Attorney General's Chambers had indicated that an inquest would be held via a letter dated Nov 17 last year to the lawyers representing Atif's family.

However, Atif’s father Abu Bakar Ja'afar has yet to receive any communication from the authorities about the inquest, Lee told a press conference here on Thursday (Feb 27).

He said the inquest under the Criminal Procedure Code should be conducted immediately as the family must be told of the circumstances of Atif's death.

On Dec 18, 2022, the body of 20-year-old Atif was found in a surau in Mersing, Johor.

A post-mortem determined the cause of death to be traumatic asphyxia, with 53 marks of injury found.

“Atif's family believes that he was beaten to death by persons unknown," Lee said, adding that they initially hoped the police investigation would shed light on the matter.

He said that after waiting for two years, the family had not received any updates from the police and claimed the case had been classified as "no further action" or NFA without a clear explanation given.

Lee added that failure to resolve the case constituted a breakdown in the administration of justice.

The family made a High Court filing in Johor to compel the inquest, but the application was dismissed and the matter is now before the Court of Appeal, he said.

NGOs Eliminating Death and Abuse in Custody Together (Edict) and Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement (TBH-ADA) were also at Thursday's press conference. - Star, 27/2/2025

Beaten to death: Family still waiting for answers after 21 months
Shakira Buang
Published:  Sep 25, 2024 7:42 PM
Updated: 8:52 PM

A 22-year-old student was found dead in a surau in Mersing, Johor, on Dec 19, 2022, a day after going missing from his hostel.

There were 53 injuries on Muhammad Atif Abu Bakar’s body.

The death was caused by traumatic asphyxia (pressure on the chest) disrupting the blood flow from the heart.

After more than a year and a half of police investigations, the family was finally informed that no further action would be taken.

They were also advised to refer the case to a magistrate as the police have decided not to pursue the matter further.

For the victim’s family, this decision was unacceptable.

Travelling more than 350km from their home, they held a press conference in Petaling Jaya today with their lawyer and the human rights NGO Eliminating Deaths and Abuse in Custody (Edict) to demand justice.

‘It can’t go on like this’

Suspecting that Atif was beaten to death by a crowd, Abu Bakar Ja’afar, 62, said his late son deserved justice, even though he was alleged to be mentally unstable during the incident.

“But this case has dragged on for far too long, and we don’t know what’s happening. The hostel (management) didn’t inform us of anything, they just told me to get the reports (related to Atif). I went everywhere, but it’s all silent, no updates.

“I want to know the cause of my son’s death. With all the beating marks, the forensic report after the post-mortem stated that his death was caused by pressure leading to a lack of oxygen.

“So, who caused that pressure? I want to know,” he said.

Abu Bakar said he had trusted the police and left them to conduct the investigation.

“But it’s almost two years now. My eldest son said it can’t go on like this, remaining silent. I was told that nine to 10 people had been arrested.

“I firmly believed the police would help me, but I’ve been waiting, and still, there’s no decision. It’s just silence,” he said.

Mentally unstable?

Recalling the tragic incident, Abu Bakar said that on the day of the death, Atif had called him, asking to be picked up from the hostel the following day.

However, Atif left the hostel earlier and was found dead in the Surau Taman Wawasan - about 15km from his hostel at the Mersing Industrial Training Institute.

Meanwhile, Atif’s brother Muhammad Aiman, 32, said the police previously informed the family that his brother was mentally unstable during the incident.

He said he was told that the deceased had removed his clothes, disturbed the public, and kicked passing motorcycles before disappearing into the forest in Mersing.

After searching all day, the victim was eventually found in Surau Taman Wawasan - about 15km from his hostel at the Mersing Industrial Training Institute.

According to the family, although investigations and arrests were made shortly after the death, there had been no further developments until they were recently asked to file a new police report.

The report was made on Sept 15, 2024.

On the same day, the police concluded that no further investigation would be conducted, and the complainant was advised to refer to the magistrate.

They had not made a report earlier because they believed the authorities were already taking the necessary measures.

‘Cops don’t know the law’

Meanwhile, the family’s lawyer, M Visvanathan, questioned the police’s actions almost two years after the incident.

He said the police’s requests for the family to refer to a magistrate for further action also demonstrate they “don’t know the law”.

Under Section 13 of the Criminal Procedure Code, when there is a suspicious death or if the cause of death is unknown, the information must immediately be conveyed to the magistrate or coroner for action.

“So, in this case, the police don’t know the law,” said Visvanathan, who is also from Edict.

M Visvanathan

He also urged the police’s Integrity and Standard Compliance Department to take action against the officers involved in the investigation for allegedly not performing their duties according to the law.

Malaysiakini is attempting to obtain clarification from Johor and Mersing police regarding the family’s claims. - Malaysiakini, 25/9/2024

 

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