Press Statement: 14 January 2014 One year after the death of Chang Chin Te in police custody, still no inquest held Today marks the first anniversary of the death of Chang Chin Te under police custody. To this date, the government has failed to conduct an inquest to his death. Does the name ring any bells? Chang Chin Te was arrested on the 10 Jan 2013 for allegedly involved in a gang robbery. He was found dead 4 days later at the USJ8 Subang Jaya police station lockup. The family found traces of bruises, swelling and wounds on several parts of his body. Instead of investigating the possible wrong-doings, the police hauled up two members of Parliament, YB Gobind Singh and YB Sivarasa for questioning after they helped the family of Chang Chin Te to seek justice over the death of their loved one, thanks to the Subang OCPD Yahya Ramli, who filed a report against the two members of Parliament. Although it was reported that the family of the deceased gave up on pursuing further on the cause of his death, does the government wash its hands too on the case? How can the government ignore a death under its law enforcement agency without any investigation or inquest held to establish the cause of his death in accordance to the law? Section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) clearly states that when a person died while in the custody of the police, a Magistrate shall hold an inquiry into the cause of death. Furthermore, section 337 of the CPC provides that a Magistrate holding an inquiry shall inquire into when, where and how the deceased came to his or her death and also whether any person is criminally involved in the cause of such death. This seems not to be bothered at all by the authorities in power. SUARAM strongly condemns the failure on the part of the government to ensure an inquest is held on the death of Chang Chin Te and urge for an inquest to be established immediately. SUARAM calls on the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi to walk the talk and establish a permanent coroners court as soon as possible. We urgently need a permanent, independent and professional coroners court to conduct inquest on all deaths under law enforcement agencies. Released by, R. Thevarajan SUARAM Coordinator
Posted on: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 04:29:14 +0000
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