CITIZENS Against Enforced Disappearances group (CAGED) wants Attorney-General Idrus Harun to answer for the reasons police are referring six deaths in police custody to him for directions on inquests.

CAGED asked Idrus if the AG Chambers had given wrong directions to the police and coroners in such deaths since the law makes it mandatory to conduct an inquest.

The group added if the police were aware they needed to report all deaths in their custody to the coroners as required by the law.

Caged said it was shocked by the statement made by director of the police’s Integrity Department Azri Ahmad yesterday who said police were seeking directions from the AG Chambers.

“Six out of seven deaths in police custody reported in a five-week period have “no criminal element”.

“Is PDRM (te police) unaware that coroners are bound by law and Chief Justice’s directives to conduct inquests?” it asked.

Caged also asked how long this failure to inform the coroner had been going on.

“Is it possible that over the years the Attorney General’s Chambers has been contravening section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Code?”

Section 334 states: “When any person dies while in the custody of the police or in a psychiatric hospital or prison, the officer who had the custody of that person or was in charge of that psychiatric hospital or prison, as the case may be, shall immediately give intimation of such death to the nearest magistrate (coroner, since 8 April 2014, vide Chief Justice Directive), and the magistrate or some other magistrate shall, in the case of a death in the custody of the police, and in other cases may, if he thinks expedient, hold an inquiry into the cause of the death.”

Caged said it was therefore clear under section 334 that conducting an inquest into any death in police custody was not an option.

“Yet, based on data revealed in parliament, we know that since 2014 coroners have routinely failed to conduct such inquests.” – February 10, 2022.