THE Attorney-General (AG) must exercise his powers and direct coroners to conduct inquiries into each and every custodial death to prevent such deaths from recurring, said Citizens against Enforced Disappearances (Caged) in a statement today.

The group’s call comes after seven people died in police custody in the first five weeks of this year.

There must be a serious effort to restore public confidence in the police force, it added.

Caged suggested cops implement three critical components in a bid to eradicate custodial deaths.

“Under section 339 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the AG has the power to order coroners to conduct inquiries into deaths in custody.

“The Bukit Aman Integrity and Standards Compliance Department’s (JIPS) Death in Custody Investigations Unit must first complete transparency about deaths in custody.

“Action must be taken following these deaths and investigations conducted by an independent commission, commended in the special select committee report on the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission Bill (2019).”

Caged said the police force should not be investigating its own officers for the sake of transparency.

Several custodial deaths have been reported in the past one month, with the latest involving a man detained for drug possession at a police station in Pandamaran, Klang, on Friday.

JIPS director Azri Ahmad said the 35-year-old was found unconscious at 6.50am at the station.

A day before the latest incident, a detainee died after complaining of chest pain at Penor Prison in Kuantan.

Azri said the 38-year-old was brought to a centralised lock-up in Indera Mahkota to attend a drug hearing last Tuesday.

Caged commended Azri for announcing the deaths, but said the rising number of custodial deaths has raised many questions.

“There are unanswered questions, despite the announcement. Have the families been briefed about the next steps in the investigations?

“Have police treated anyone as suspects in the above-mentioned cases, or will they ask coroners to conduct inquiries into all deaths in custody?”

Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin said 82 custodial deaths were reported between 2015 and November last year.

All the victims were either Malay (42), Indian (15), Chinese (13) or a foreigner (12). – February 7, 2022.