Police confirm seven deaths in custody, say only one involved criminal elements

KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysia Police confirm that there have been seven cases of death in police custody and investigations revealed that only one of them involved criminal elements.

Bukit Aman Integrity and Standards Compliance Department (JIPS) director Comm Datuk Azri Ahmad said of the seven cases reported, four were deaths in lockups.

The other two cases involved death at the hospital and another died on the way to hospital, he added.

He gave the assurance the Criminal Investigation Unit on Deaths in Custody (USJKT), set up under JIPS last January, would investigate all cases of death in police custody.

Investigations will be conducted transparently without any compromise, he told a special media conference in Bukit Aman here Wednesday (Feb 9).

Azri said the police had proposed that an integrated clinic be set up at police lockups to monitor the health of those in police custody.

He said under the current standard operating procedures (SOP), persons in police custody who had health problems would be referred to the nearest hospital. - Bernama