Press Statement: 27 January 2014 PDRM: Torture to extract confession must stop It is shocking to hear the fate of Zul Hilmi Abdul Rahman, a healthy 32 years old man who went to police station and came out bedridden 12 days after. The Royal Malaysian Police is once again in the limelight, unfortunately again for their alleged horrendous torture method in interrogation. Zul Hilmi, voluntarily reported himself to the Kubang Pasu police station on 11 December 2013 after police officers came looking for him at his house. According to the news from news portal FZ, the exact statement from Zul Hilmi was They were forcing me to confess to a rape case but I refused because I didnt rape anyone. I was then blindfolded and punched in my stomach. I suddenly couldnt breathe. Zul Hilmi was admitted to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital on 23 December 2013. He suffered injuries to his testicles which caused infection and had spread to his intestines. Theres not even a certainty that he would be able to have children in future. When insufficient evidences are available for a case, a confession would be essential. Officers whom are pressured to resolve cases tend to take the easy way out by resorting to torture to extract confession during interrogations. Torture does not only limit to the act of physical violence but also includes emotional and psychological torture. In 2013, there were 12 cases of death in custody reported. Zul Hilmi was lucky to be able to come out of the police station alive and not add to the statistic of death in custody of 2013. We do not know how many such cases went unreported. This raises question whether bypassing professional investigation in gathering evidences to prove a case has been the norms in the police force What is the role of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) if it is not for conducting investigation to provide objective and scientific evidences to prove a case? There has been a pattern of close relationship between death in custody and torture. In the case of Ulaganathan in 2003, his mother Madam Tamil Selvi found the health of Ulaganathan deteriorated in each of her visit at the Kajang police station lockup until the bad news one day that his 29-year-old son was declared dead by the police. Another custodial death victim, Gunasegaran, was reportedly kicked by police officer in the Sentul Police Station while under detention for suspicion of drug possession. Suaram believes many more cases out there went unreported or covered up. Many fear to voice out their ordeal in order to avoid further intimidation and threats from police. The lack of an independent and effective watchdog over the police force is one of the reasons that the police officers continue to enjoy impunity despite committed such heinous human rights violations. Last year, the Supreme Court in China ordered its lower courts to exclude evidence obtained by torture in a bid to promote fair justice. Even if a suspect or a criminal does not respect the law, the police are obliged to hold the law. SUARAM calls on the Inspector General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to provide public explanation on the torture of Zul Hilmi and urges the Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission (EAIC) to investigate immediately into the matter and hold police officers involved in the torture of Zul Hilmi accountable. We further call on the prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to initiate anti-torture law to ban outright any forms of torture, cruel and inhumane treatment. There is no place for torture in a country that aspires to be a civilized and democratic.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 04:40:07 +0000
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