A perusal of recent incidents where persons were shot dead by police raises questions over whether these were chance encounters by normal police patrols or not, opines the writer. – Alif Omar/Scoop file pic, August 25, 2024
Opinion/Analysis
Investigate if extrajudicial killings of criminals are ‘planned’ murders instead – Charles Hector
String of cases where special police teams, and not regular patrol units, shoot dead alleged criminals, must be investigated by Suhakam, Parliament or even a royal commission of inquiry
25 August, 2024, 3:00 PM MYT
A PERUSAL of recent incidents where persons have been shot dead, and not arrested as required, discloses that the police officers involved were not the normal police units, who normally patrol in marked police cars with two persons or on motorcycle patrol units, but rather “special” teams, sometimes involving police officers from outside the relevant police district. This raises questions whether these shooting incidents were chance encounters by normal police patrols or not.
Some of the more recent media reported extrajudicial killing incidents, whereby, according to reports, none of the alleged suspects were shot and arrested, are as follows:
– In an incident on August 20, 2024 incident, one person was shot dead at the entry to the Sg Balak Toll Plaza on the Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway (SILK) near Kajang, Selangor. It was a Bukit Aman criminal investigation team. (Bernama, August 20, 2024);
– On August 13, 2024, a man was shot dead at the entry to the Sg Balak Toll Plaza on SILK near Kajang, Selangor. A team from the Bukit Aman criminal investigation department (CID) was involved (The Sun, August 13, 2024);
– In an incident on August 14, 2024, two were killed in Johor Bahru, and it was “a joint federal-state police CID team, consisting of operatives from the organised crime investigation division (D14) and serious crimes division (D9)” (Malay Mail, August 15, 2024);
– On August 6, 2020, two were shot dead at KM396.5 of the North-South Highway at the Tg Malim lay-by, Perak. A team of police officers from the Bukit Aman CID together with the CID division of the Perak police contingent headquarters was involved. (Malay Mail, June 2, 2024); and
– In an incident on March 29, 2024, five were shot dead in Putra Heights, Kuala Lumpur, and it was a police team that was involved. (Malay Mail, March 30, 2024)
One common thread that emerges was it was all not “normal” police officers, but a “special” team.
These special teams comprised the Bukit Aman criminal investigation team, Bukit Aman CID, joint federal-state police CID team consisting of operatives from the organised crime investigation division (D14) and serious crimes division (D9), and Bukit Aman CID together with the CID division of the Perak police contingent headquarters.
Such “special teams” normally will not be involved in normal police patrols, but are usually discharged for a very specific purpose.
The story or the police narrative is too similar in cases where police shot dead the suspects because a suspicious vehicle failed to stop despite being asked to by police. Or that the occupant/s allegedly opened fire and police shot back and the suspects were killed.
No one in such encounters with police was shot and arrested alive, or just arrested unhurt.
Another similarity that emerges is the narrative that the deceased victims are “bad people” and have committed crimes. Remember, in Malaysia, only the courts decide on guilt or innocence, and the sentence.
This trend raises serious questions about our police force. Was the encounter with the said suspect/s coincidental or planned? What is of concern is also whether there was any intention to arrest at all. Did police follow the law?
Malaysian law clearly states that police must arrest suspects, and cannot kill. If a police encounter results in death, then the said police officers should be charged in court with murder or culpable homicide, and only the courts will decide whether any of the defences the police force may have will succeed.
We also do not hear the result of the coroner’s inquiry into these fatal shootings, nor of news that these police officers have been investigated and charged in court for the extrajudicial killing.
What is happening affects the public perception of the police force, and the problem lies in the lack of transparency. There is no news of actions against those police officers involved in these killings. Disciplinary action alone is not enough – they should be charged in court.
The United Nations’ Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions state: “… An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification for extra-legal, arbitrary or summary executions…”.
A police officer ordered to shoot to kill, not arrest, must and can defy orders from superiors.
In case of custodial torture, the Court of Appeal in Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor v PP has said this: “When a police officer, be he of whatever rank, is found guilty of assaulting a member of the public and more so of an arrested person as in this case, the courts should send a message of the public abhorrence of such acts – by coming down hard on him and nothing short of a custodial sentence, even for a first offender, would suffice…”.
The same applies to police officers involved in extrajudicial killings.
Madpet calls Suhakam, Parliament and/or an independent royal commission of inquiry to look into these extrajudicial killings by police in depth to dispel concerns of pre-planned “killings” with no intention to arrest, abuse of power or other unlawfulness.
Madpet calls on the government to prohibit by law all extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions and shall ensure that any such executions are recognized as offences under their criminal laws, and are punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account the seriousness of such offences, as per the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions.
Madpet eiterates the concerns and calls in the 18 Groups Joint Statement dated August 19, 2024, entitled “Criminalize extrajudicial killing, and charge law enforcement officers involved in the killing in Court, for it is Court that decides guilt and whether any defence including self defence will succeed”.
Police and law enforcement must follow the law, and should not torture or kill anyone. Malaysia must have a clean and law-abiding law enforcement. – August 25, 2024
Charles Hector is a human rights activist with Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet)
Some of the more recent media reported extrajudicial killing incidents, whereby, according to reports, none of the alleged suspects were shot and arrested, are as follows:
– In an incident on August 20, 2024 incident, one person was shot dead at the entry to the Sg Balak Toll Plaza on the Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway (SILK) near Kajang, Selangor. It was a Bukit Aman criminal investigation team. (Bernama, August 20, 2024);
– On August 13, 2024, a man was shot dead at the entry to the Sg Balak Toll Plaza on SILK near Kajang, Selangor. A team from the Bukit Aman criminal investigation department (CID) was involved (The Sun, August 13, 2024);
– In an incident on August 14, 2024, two were killed in Johor Bahru, and it was “a joint federal-state police CID team, consisting of operatives from the organised crime investigation division (D14) and serious crimes division (D9)” (Malay Mail, August 15, 2024);
– On August 6, 2020, two were shot dead at KM396.5 of the North-South Highway at the Tg Malim lay-by, Perak. A team of police officers from the Bukit Aman CID together with the CID division of the Perak police contingent headquarters was involved. (Malay Mail, June 2, 2024); and
– In an incident on March 29, 2024, five were shot dead in Putra Heights, Kuala Lumpur, and it was a police team that was involved. (Malay Mail, March 30, 2024)
One common thread that emerges was it was all not “normal” police officers, but a “special” team.
These special teams comprised the Bukit Aman criminal investigation team, Bukit Aman CID, joint federal-state police CID team consisting of operatives from the organised crime investigation division (D14) and serious crimes division (D9), and Bukit Aman CID together with the CID division of the Perak police contingent headquarters.
Such “special teams” normally will not be involved in normal police patrols, but are usually discharged for a very specific purpose.
The story or the police narrative is too similar in cases where police shot dead the suspects because a suspicious vehicle failed to stop despite being asked to by police. Or that the occupant/s allegedly opened fire and police shot back and the suspects were killed.
No one in such encounters with police was shot and arrested alive, or just arrested unhurt.
Another similarity that emerges is the narrative that the deceased victims are “bad people” and have committed crimes. Remember, in Malaysia, only the courts decide on guilt or innocence, and the sentence.
This trend raises serious questions about our police force. Was the encounter with the said suspect/s coincidental or planned? What is of concern is also whether there was any intention to arrest at all. Did police follow the law?
Malaysian law clearly states that police must arrest suspects, and cannot kill. If a police encounter results in death, then the said police officers should be charged in court with murder or culpable homicide, and only the courts will decide whether any of the defences the police force may have will succeed.
We also do not hear the result of the coroner’s inquiry into these fatal shootings, nor of news that these police officers have been investigated and charged in court for the extrajudicial killing.
What is happening affects the public perception of the police force, and the problem lies in the lack of transparency. There is no news of actions against those police officers involved in these killings. Disciplinary action alone is not enough – they should be charged in court.
The United Nations’ Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions state: “… An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification for extra-legal, arbitrary or summary executions…”.
A police officer ordered to shoot to kill, not arrest, must and can defy orders from superiors.
In case of custodial torture, the Court of Appeal in Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor v PP has said this: “When a police officer, be he of whatever rank, is found guilty of assaulting a member of the public and more so of an arrested person as in this case, the courts should send a message of the public abhorrence of such acts – by coming down hard on him and nothing short of a custodial sentence, even for a first offender, would suffice…”.
The same applies to police officers involved in extrajudicial killings.
Madpet calls Suhakam, Parliament and/or an independent royal commission of inquiry to look into these extrajudicial killings by police in depth to dispel concerns of pre-planned “killings” with no intention to arrest, abuse of power or other unlawfulness.
Madpet calls on the government to prohibit by law all extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions and shall ensure that any such executions are recognized as offences under their criminal laws, and are punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account the seriousness of such offences, as per the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions.
Madpet eiterates the concerns and calls in the 18 Groups Joint Statement dated August 19, 2024, entitled “Criminalize extrajudicial killing, and charge law enforcement officers involved in the killing in Court, for it is Court that decides guilt and whether any defence including self defence will succeed”.
Police and law enforcement must follow the law, and should not torture or kill anyone. Malaysia must have a clean and law-abiding law enforcement. – August 25, 2024
Charles Hector is a human rights activist with Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet)
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