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Malaysian police shoot 90 Indonesians since 2007
Associated Press - May 5, 2010
Malaysia has set up a panel to ensure impartiality in a police probe into the fatal shooting of a teenager by four officers in an incident that led to a murder investigation and a public outcry over alleged heavy-handed tactics.
Malaysian police frequently shoot allegedly armed suspects who they claim attempt to attack them. Usually, no probes are ordered. Activists say more than 180 people, half of them Indonesians, have been shot since 2007 without any police officers known to have faced action.
The eight-member panel, headed by the deputy home minister, is to ensure that the police work quickly and transparently to investigate the April 26 shooting of a 14-year-old boy, panel member and social scientist Denison Jayasooria said Wednesday.
Aminulrasyid Amzah's death led to a public outcry because of the boy's age and the murky circumstances under which he was killed. The four police officers at the scene are under investigation for murder and would face a mandatory death penalty if charged and convicted.
Police say they fired at the car's tires after Aminulrasyid refused to stop and instead reversed into them. He died from a bullet to the head. The boy's friend, who also was in the car but escaped unhurt, denies Aminulrasyid tried to reverse the car. He says his friend was scared because he was driving without a license and was trying to speed away.
Jayasooria said the panel was set up to calm public anger and calls for action. "Our main role is to ensure that... there is justice for all parties. We are here to ensure that the police look at every angle of the case," Jayasooria said.
Jayasooria said the panel also would look into police procedures on discharging firearms and police officers' training and make recommendations to the ministry to change procedures if warranted. The panel, which includes a former national police chief, will meet once a week.
Deputy Home Minister Abu Seman Yusop introduced the panel – composed of government officials, a lawyer and analysts – on Tuesday. The panel has already read witness reports and gone to the scene of the shooting. It will have access to the investigating papers, Jayasooria said.
Tah Moon Hui, coordinator for the rights group Suaram, said the group questioned the panel's independence and power to oversee police work and make recommendations.
"What the government should do now is to build back the public's confidence in the police. If they continue to let these cases happen, it shows the apparent impunity in the police," he said.
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