The Suhakam, Malaysia's Human Rights Commission, faces its first ever obstruction in its 25-year history as prison authorities deny access for investigation into an inmate's death. Despite assurances from the Home Minister, the Prison Department cites an ongoing police investigation as the reason. Suhakam strongly condemns this move, citing its history of collaborating with police investigations and its legal mandate to conduct such inquiries.
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia ( Suhakam ) has been denied access to prisons to investigate the death of an inmate, a move marking the first such obstruction in the commission’s 25-year history. The Prison Department cited an ongoing police investigation as the reason for barring Suhakam from entering the prisons. Suhakam strongly criticized this decision, calling it an unacceptable violation of statutory responsibilities, prejudiced, and completely unreasonable.
The commission emphasized that in its decades of experience, it has often conducted concurrent investigations with the police in prisons, including cases of deaths in custody, without encountering any issues. Suhakam asserted that no one has the legal authority to prevent or delay its investigations, citing the powers granted to it under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act. This denial of access comes despite assurances from Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution to cooperate with Suhakam in probing the Taiping Prison death case. The case revolves around Gan Chin Eng, a 62-year-old inmate who died in Taiping Prison due to an abdominal injury caused by blunt trauma, as reported by the coroner. Gan’s 20-year-old son has called for accountability and raised concerns over the circumstances of his father’s unexpected death. This development occurs alongside the recent detention of two human rights activists who visited the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN) in Putrajaya to submit a memorandum on detainees’ rights. Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) executive director Sevan Doraisamy and programme Azura Nasron from the Suaram group were questioned for allegedly entering the KDN complex illegally. However, the police claimed they were not arrested. The Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) group stated that video evidence showed a clear detention. At the time of writing, Sevan has since been released after giving his statement, while Azura is reportedly still required to give a statement on this matter.
HUMAN RIGHTS SUHAKAM MALAYSIA PRISON DEATH IN CUSTODY POLICE INVESTIGATION ACTIVISTS DETENTION
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