Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/05/31/whos-lying-ex-igp-or-home-minister-asks-dap-mp/
(By Alyaa Azhar, 31/5/2012)
An
investigation needs to be done to determine who really is lying about the CCTVs
in police lock-ups, says DAP's Lim Lip Eng.
A thorough
police investigation is needed to determine the culprit who has been misleading
the public on whether closed-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras have been installed in
police lock-ups, said DAP’s Lim Lip Eng. Speaking to reporters after lodging a
police report on the issue at the Jinjang police station today, the Segambut MP
said there have been contradicting statements given by former inspector-general
of police (IGP) Musa Hassan and Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
“On May 28,
Zahid said that the home ministry plans to install CCTVs in police lock-ups, in
the wake of the latest death in custody case. However, on May 29, Musa said
that CCTVs have already been installed in police lock-ups,” said Lim.
Zahid had
said that installing CCTVs in police lock-ups was one of the proposals
submitted to the home ministry to enhance police detention procedures. “The
CCTV would record the goings-on in the lock-up, and should an injury or death
occur, the recording could be used as evidence,” said the home minister.
Musa on the
other hand said that most CCTVs in police lock-ups were installed in 2006 but
admitted that most of them no longer function due to budget constraints.
Lim
explained that the police report was lodged because “they have lied with the
intention to create disharmony and endanger the safety of police detainees”.
“Throughout
the years, there have been many different answers on this issue. Back in 2011,
former Kelana Jaya MP Loh Gwo Burne asked the then home minister Hishammuddin
Hussein on the number of police lock-ups which have CCTVs installed.
“Hishammuddin
replied by saying that 227 police lock-ups and 36 interrogation rooms have been
installed with CCTVs,” said Lim, adding that he left out Loh’s parliamentary
query in the police report. “I purposely left out Loh’s parliamentary query
because I want the police to do their job. They need to do their own
investigation.
‘Give CCTV recording to family’
“Also, I
have asked for the police to give a copy of the CCTV recording to the
deceased’s [N Dhamendran ] family. Dhamendran,
32, died while in police custody at the Kuala Lumpur (KL) police contingent
headquarters lock-up. The case was classified as murder after a post-mortem
showed he had died due to injuries caused by blunt trauma.
“They
should have a recording of it. He died at the KL police headquarters. If the KL
police headquarters does not have CCTVs, what about police stations at remote
and rural areas, then?” queried Lim.
Lim added
that he expects a status report from the police with regard to the issue. I expect
them to give me follow-ups on the case. If they fail to do so, I will raise the
matter in parliament when it convenes in June 25. So they have close to a month
to provide me with a status report,” he said.
Related
news: DAP lodges report against duo over CCTV in lock-ups http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/231695
1 comment:
Yes, who's wrong here, 1 question but 3 answers, and 0 solutions for Kugan, Dhamendran, etc, etc, etc. The police should investigate themselves (fat chance!), see themselves on CCTV, like in Los Angeles Rodney King!
But, a problem with CCTV is, that unless we (the Rakyak who's to be protected by it) control the recordings, wouldn't it just be used as a tool when it benefits the police and go missing when it might embarass them. Please insist that the Police not make their own recording, but that it be crowd sourced onto the Internet for all to see. The idea that it would cost too much, like for the Parliment broadcasts, doesn't hold water anymore. The goal is to protect citizens, not the potential abusers.
That said, like CCTV anywhere, the criminals and PDRM know about the cameras, and just shift out of view or to the next street or outside the lockup. The crime rate doesn't decrease at all in studies done, and further the CCTV helps solve next to 1 in a 1,000,000 crimes so diverted funds (isn't it a RM90,000,000 allocation from KPKT?) from more effective programs, like education.
And like with the Stasi in Germany, soon we find we are all now suspects and spies in the street or home or forest, and no safer. "He who gives up his freedom for the sake of security, will find he receives neither"
So please no more CCTV anywhere, just good honest men on the street, if we can find any.
Keep up the good work. Looking forward to more police reports exposing inconsistencies where the law enforcers aren't following the legislated rules.
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