PETALING JAYA: Lawyers representing the families of three men shot dead in Durian Tunggal, Melaka, are disputing police claims about the location and timing of the incident, citing new evidence.
Lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan said the evidence was sent anonymously to fellow lawyer Arun Dorasamy at his office in Seksyen 14 here on Saturday (Dec 13).
“Arun received an envelope containing a letter and photos with time stamps of the car the three men were in. The sender claimed the car was seen by PLUS via nearby CCTV on Nov 24 in the emergency lane at KM224 of the North-South Expressway and alerted tow truck operators.
"The first tow truck driver allegedly arrived at 1.25am and saw police on the scene. The sender himself arrived at 2.21am to find only the car left," Rajesh told a press conference on Monday (Dec 15).
He said this directly contradicts the police’s account that the shooting happened at 4am at a palm oil plantation.
The letter and photos, he added, matched the timeline of a phone call recording already handed to the police.
“We will submit the letter and photos to the police after lodging a report,” he said.
Rajesh also denied claims by Melaka police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Dzulkhairi Mukhtar that a 31-year-old woman, who said she was the wife of one of the men shot, had multiple police records.
“She has given statements for several investigations but has never been convicted. Police also questioned her marriage status, but whether it was traditional or legal should not matter,” he said.
He urged the Bukit Aman special task force to be more transparent with the shooting investigation, saying, “So far we have received no updates. We also call on the Home Minister and Inspector-General of Police to place DCP Dzulkhairi on leave or transfer him to prevent interference, as Bukit Aman was supposed to handle the case.”
Rajesh said the families need an impartial and transparent investigation, adding, “We have given the police full cooperation.”
On Nov 24, DCP Dzulkhairi stated that three criminals, aged 24 to 29, were shot dead after one attacked a policeman with a machete at an oil palm plantation in Durian Tunggal. The 4am incident left a corporal in his early 30s seriously injured in the left arm.
All suspects, allegedly members of the Durian Tunggal Gang, had reportedly been detected en route to commit robbery. The gang is linked to 20 cases in Melaka and one each in Negri Sembilan and Selangor, with losses totalling RM1.35mil.
Previously, Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail said the police received a compact disc (CD) from a suspect’s family member on Dec 6, believed to contain an audio recording of a phone conversation between one of the suspects and his wife before the incident.
