The Home Minister Hamzah Zanudin announced yesterday, 6 December, that a special panel has been established to investigate deaths in police custody – beginning 1 January next year.
Called the Custodial Death Crime Investigation Unit, it will comprise 12 uniformed officers and one member of the public, while being parked under police headquarters’ integrity department.
“The investigations will focus on criminal elements, identification of subjects, negligence of police officers and adherence to SOPs as well as orders issued to the officers,” he told Free Malaysia Today.
This panel comes after growing criticism of the police’s treatment of detainees by rights groups and members of the public, particularly after six Indian men were found dead within three months this year, reported Vice.
However, Hamzah denied that the deaths were racially motivated, stating that…