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The Shooting of the Penang Five: Murder or Self-defence?
ONLY IN MALAYSIA! SHOOTING AFTER SHOOTING…
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A VICIOUS CYCLE THAT HAS NO END IN SIGHT..
All it takes is for one side to begin.
If criminals shoot first, cops will react by shooting first when they encounter the next gang of armed robbers.
If cops shoot first, armed criminals, knowing that they won’t be given a chance to surrender, will shoot as soon as they see cops.
On and on it goes…
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Press Statement: Executing Suspected Criminals is Unlawful Killing
16 October 2013
Lawyers for Liberty is extremely concerned with the growing public perception that the police readiness to execute a suspect will create a safer environment.
Executing a suspect without a judicial process or a valid legal defence is extra-judicial killing, is unlawful, bypasses the legal process and is no different from a mob killing.
It is easy to perceive the killing of a suspect as something to be applauded, because the suspect is often portrayed as a hardcore, guilty criminal, deserving of nothing less than the death penalty.
Wong Chun Wai’s appalling and childish article in the Star last Sunday painted a picture of armed and dangerous criminals, using this image to justify the ‘shoot first’ policy and demanded the return of Chuck Norris and Clint Eastwood-style of summary justice.
The Federal Constitution as well as criminal law prohibit the taking of life of another human being unless it is done so according to the law.
Although Lawyers for Liberty is against the death penalty, under Malaysian law, one’s life can only be taken if it is done accordance to due process of the law, with a charge, a fair trial and if one has committed a crime that is punishable by death.
Executing suspects, guilty or otherwise cannot escape the fact that this action is criminal and is equally condemned by the state.
The indiscriminate and excessive use of firearms on a ‘suspect’ can and has produced unjust outcomes which cannot be reversed or compensated.
Moreover, the standard operating procedure of the police’s usage of arms has always been kept secret. Are we certain it is in line with the Federal Constitution and the law, therefore it doesn’t encourage extra-judicial killings?
The right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence are all in place because the criminal justice system is man-made. A man-made system is imperfect and no person should ever be given the right to take away a life unless guilt is founded with certainty before a court of law.
Executing a ‘suspect’ provides no room for human error, because once a human life is lost, it cannot be reversed. The police have made mistakes in recognizing suspects and have fatally shot and wounded innocent civilians.
Women and children are not spared from the danger of misidentification. The case of Aminulrasyid, an innocent 15-year-old boy is a prime example of how dangerous this ‘shoot first’ policy can be.
Adopting this stance of ‘shooting first’ does not make Malaysia any safer. In fact, it will make Malaysia a dangerous place, because any person, a man, woman or child could be mistaken as a suspect and the police are given the license to open fire on ‘mere suspicion’.
Lawyers for Liberty therefore calls on the police not to sidestep the entire criminal justice process and takes on the role of the judge, jury and executioner. Instead, the police must act according to established legal and policing standards that only allow the use of deadly force when absolutely necessary e.g. in situation of self-defence and when other means have been tried and failed.
Issued by,
Michelle Yesudas
Legal/ Campaign Coordinator
Lawyers for Liberty
For more information, please contact:
Off: 03-7960 5688
E-mail: admin@lawyersforliberty.org
www.lawyersforliberty.org
Twitter: @lawyers4liberty
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Malaysiakini
Ten criminals were shot dead by police within the span of three days, not long after Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s controversial “shoot first” comment, said an opposition MP.
PKR’s Padang Serai parliamentarian N Surendran, describing these shootings as “murder”, linked the incidents to the minister’s comments.
On Oct 9, three people were shot dead in Sentul, while three were killed in Ipoh on Oct 10 and four in Ampang on Oct 11, he said.
“Zahid has officially endorsed murder by the police force; and the inspector-general of police and top brass have been disgracefully defending Zahid’s criminal statement,” he said in a statement.
“Public safety is in grave danger. We call for an immediate end to the ‘shoot-first’ policy, and for Zahid and the IGP to be probed for conspiracy and abetment of murder.
“Why is it that not one of the 10 could be arrested alive or by a disabling shot?”
Surendran: 10 killed after ‘shoot first’ remark
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Nurul Izzah called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to stop being preoccupied with the Umno general election to the point that he forgets to maintain sanity and common sense within his own Cabinet. She said the government should be Malaysia-oriented, not Umno-action oriented.
Malaysian Insider
Nurul Izzah slams IGP for inviting MP to experience shootout with criminals
BY LEE SHI-IAN
October 13, 2013
The Inspector-General of Police should retract the shocking offer he made to N. Surendran and instead meet the opposition halfway in addressing the weaknesses within the police force, said PKR.
Its vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar (pic) said Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar’s offer to Padang Serai MP N. Surendran to accompany police and experience a risky first-hand shootout with criminals was a challenge devoid of any principles. She also expressed indignation at the indemnity clause inserted by Khalid.
“Surendran, like every single Malaysian, has every right to request for the highest level of professionalism from the police and to be protected without bias, without the fear of threats and requests for an indemnity,” Nurul Izzah said in a statement.
“No member of Parliament should entertain this police display of bias, uncouth and threatening behaviour, lest we all fall into a downward spiral of irresponsible conduct. I, myself, will not condone any of my colleagues pursuing such risky endeavours,” the Lembah Pantai MP said.
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Malaysia Chronicle
Saturday, 12 October 2013 17:20
IS IGP TRYING TO SET UP SURENDRAN’S MURDER? Why ask for indemnity – Azmin
Written by Azmin Ali
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Malaysian Insider
Surendran accepts offer, ready to tag along with police in the line of fire
BY LEE SHI-IAN
October 12, 2013
Parti Keadilan Rakyat vice-president N. Surendran is ready to don body armour and accompany the police to experience first-hand a shootout with criminals.
He was quoted by Malaysiakini as saying that while he was not sure about the offer by Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, he was prepared to accept the invitation.
“If Khalid is serious, then I am prepared to accept the offer. I am willing to put myself in the line of fire with the policemen who are subject to similar risks,” Surendran told the portal.
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However, the offer is contingent on Surendran signing an indemnity agreement in case of any “mishap”.
Malaysiakini
Amidst mounting criticism, inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar has invited PKR parliamentarian N Surendran to experience first hand a shootout with criminals.
Calling it a “skin feeling”, the police chief made the offer in a Twitter posting last night.
Khalid also said the Padang Serai MP would be provided with adequate protection in the form of body armour should he decide to accept the invitation.
When contacted, the PKR vice-president told Malaysiakini that he was not certain if the IGP was serious.
However, Surendran said he had no qualms accepting the invitation.
“If he is serious, then I am prepared to accept it. I am willing to put myself in the line of fire with the policemen who subject themselves to similar risks.
“I am willing to do this in the interest of creating a better criminal justice system,” he added.
Surendran, a lawyer turned politician, has been a vocal critic of the police with regard to the excessive use of force.
IGP invites Surendran to a ‘shootout’
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Star
Friday October 11, 2013 MYT 3:04:12 PM
Police shoot dead four robbers in Ampang
KUALA LUMPUR: Four robbers were shot dead by police in a shoot out when the raided an apartment in Jalan Ampang Putra at 12.20pm on Friday.
Police shoot dead four robbers in Ampang
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Malaysiakini
Verbal bullets have been ricocheting all over the place after the home minister made the controversial “shoot first” remark.
Joining the exchange, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar fired a series of tweets, denying that his personnel are fond of squeezing the trigger.
“We are no cowboys, we don’t purposely take people’s lives. We only shoot in defence of our own lives. Just to make you all safer,” he said.
Stressing that the police are colour-blind when dealing with crime, Khalid pointed out that police personnel have little choice when caught in a shootout.
“Faced with the risk of being killed, we still take the risk. Just to make you safer,” he added.
Responding to a tweet which mentioned PKR vice-president N Surendran’s remarks on the fatal shooting of five suspected criminals in Penang, Khalid trained his guns on the opposition MP.
“Some people are just ‘big mouthed’. Buat kerja dia bising, tak buat kerja lagi dia bising. Kita jangan pedulikan mereka ini (When we do our work, they make noise, when we don’t do our work, they make noise, just ignore them),” he said.
Despite the criticism, Khalid said the police would continue executing its duties to ensure that Malaysia is safe.
We ain’t cowboys, IGP returns fire
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Malaysiakini
Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is under fire for his controversial “shoot first” remark, has now added a new twist to the saga.
He claims that the police Standard Operating Procedure does not require the men in blue to firing warning shots during a confrontation with criminals.
“(If we fire warning shots), the gangsters will run away or if they are armed, the police will die first,” he was quoted as saying in an interview with IMRtv.
What is important, Ahmad Zahid said, is that intelligence is gathered.
“If we get the actual information, and they are armed and are gangsters …I only say gangsters must be eliminated but it is up to the inspector-general of police, the state police chiefs or the director of criminal investigations to do it.
“This is as long as the SOP is being followed,” he said.
Zahid’s latest bullet: Warning shots not part of police SOP
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The Star
End of the road: Police officers inspecting the getaway car and the bodies of the three suspects in Ipoh.
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Video: EXCLUSIVE: Home Minister says, “With criminals, we shoot first.”
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Malaysiakini
Up to 10 suspected robbers have died as a result of separate shootouts with police during the last three consecutive days.
In the latest incident, four Indonesian nationals were reportedly pursued by police to low-cost flats in Ampang Hilir in Kuala Lumpur, allegedly after robbing two houses.
The four were shot dead by the police after an exchange of gunfire.
This comes after the deaths of three alleged robbers were reported in Sentul on Wednesday, followed by another three in Ipoh yesterday.
n the Wednesday’s incident, Selangor police said the three were part of a group of men that had earlier robbed a woman outside a bank in Klang at 11.30am.
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Meanwhile, yesterday, four alleged robbers had earlier carried out a RM1.8 million jewellery heist near Meru Raya in Jelapang, Ipoh.
Three were gunned down after first shooting at police at the Meru Raya traffic light junction during their escape bid, while one robber sustained injury to his leg, but escaped.
10 robbers die in shootouts in three days
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weehingthong 