IPOH police are probing the group Eliminating Death and Abuse in Custody Together (Edict) over a statement it released regarding the strangling of a man to death while two policemen allegedly stood by and watched the incident.

Edict spokesperson M. Visvanathan told The Malaysian Insight that a group of police officers from the Ipoh district police station came to its office in Petaling Jaya this morning.

However, no one was in as members were out monitoring a court case, he said.

“A group of police officers came to our office, and this is regarding a statement we released last week involving the death of a man suspected to be a snatch thief.

“The man was choked in front of two on-duty police officers in full uniform who did nothing to stop the incident, which resulted in the man’s death.

“In our statement we urged the police to act against the two policemen who failed to safeguard or protect the public, and, more so, to prevent a death.”

“The Ipoh police came this morning regarding the press statement. However, we were not available,” Visvanathan said.

The picture of the man being choked went viral late last month. Two police officers in uniform, who were visible in the photo, were accused by social media users of doing nothing.

Visvanathan said Edict has been served a notice under the Criminal Procedure Code.

It is learnt that police will record statements from Edict members on Wednesday.

“The cops should not be probing any criticism against them from civil groups or ordinary citizens as our criticism is meant to improve the cops’ credibility,” Visvanathan added.

Meanwhile, a police source from the Ipoh district police station confirmed the probe into Edict but did not elaborate.

After the incident, Perak police denied that its officers did nothing to stop the incident, which was said to be a fight between two men over a stolen item.

One of the policemen in the widely shared image lodged a report and police are investigating those who took the photo and posted it on social media. – December 13, 2021.