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PETALING JAYA: A human rights NGO has called for an investigation into the deaths of four suspected robbers who were shot by police after a manhunt in Sungai Buloh yesterday.
Malaysia Against the Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) said the killing of the four by the police should be investigated independently to determine whether there was any crime.
“Madpet demands prompt and proactive independent investigations into all incidents of ‘police officers shot to death’, which is necessary to clear up questions about police crimes and / or abuse of power.
“There should also be an open investigation by a judicial officer for all such incidents of police shooting. Madpet also urges the police to arrest the suspects and do everything possible to avoid killing them, ”he said in a statement.
Madpet pointed out that article 11 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights establishes that every person accused of a criminal offense has the right to the presumption of innocence until his guilt is proven in accordance with the law in a public trial, in which he counts with all the necessary guarantees. for your defense.
The NGO also said that Section 15 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure states that if a person forcibly resists arrest or attempts to evade it, a police officer can use all necessary means to effect the arrest.
“The main objective is to make the arrest, not to kill the suspects. Were the police shooting to arrest or kill?
“Couldn’t they have shot and wounded these suspects, in their 20s, and not arrested them? If one of the four suspects was accidentally killed and the others were shot and arrested, it may be reasonable.
But all four suspects were shot and killed, and not a single one was arrested or injured. So no suspect can tell us their version of what happened. “
The NGO also questioned a report from Bernama in which police claimed the suspects were members of a masked robbery gang they were looking for, and then asked why the suspects weren’t arrested or brought in for questioning prior to yesterday’s alleged robbery.
Citing the police statement where they said the suspects were involved in 50 robberies in Selangor, and that several machetes, jewelry, cash, helmets and black clothing were found in his car, Madpet questioned whether that information was considered justification. for their deaths.
Emphasizing that past convictions for crimes are irrelevant in determining whether one is guilty of a new or different crime, the NGO said that any determination of a person’s guilt must be made in court.
“Are the ‘beliefs’ of the police now reported true, or is it simply an attempt to justify the deaths?
“The dead obviously do not have the ability to defend themselves now (themselves) against these possibly ‘false’ accusations. Perhaps an independent investigation will reveal the truth.
“Do these deaths now mean that all cases like the ’50 robberies in Selangor ‘are considered closed? Is it possible that all four were innocent and that the real perpetrators are still at large? “
Now that a trial had been avoided, he asked if this meant that the police and prosecutors would be relieved of the burden of proving the defendant’s guilt.
