A total of 11 police officers have been questioned in a high-profile probe into the death of a detainee in Malaysian police custody, news reports said yesterday.
The victim, whose name was given as A Kugan, 22, served a two-week remand on suspicions that he was involved in a carjacking syndicate when he died while in custody at the Subang Jaya district police station on Tuesday.
Police said Kugan had vomited and collapsed after drinking a glass of water during police interrogation.
Officers later told his family that Kugan died of fluid in his lungs, but relatives demanded a probe into what they said was a case of police abuse, after they found bruises on the deceased’s body.
Attorney-General Abdul Gani Pattail said police had classified the case as murder.
“We will complete the probe soon. There will be no cover-up. The case has attracted a lot of attention. Give us time to investigate,” Khalid Abu Bakar, police chief of Selangor state, was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar promised that those found guilty would be charged.
“I assure the highest standard of integrity in the investigation and it will be in accordance with the law,” he said in a statement released late on Friday. “Appropriate action will taken to uphold justice and the law. The police will not be taking sides in the investigation.”
Public opinion of the police is at an all-time low despite efforts to clean up the force, which is perceived to be abusive and corrupt.
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
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