KUALA LUMPUR: Lawyers representing the families of the three men killed in the Durian Tunggal police shooting have accused the Attorney-General (AG) and the government of failing the victims’ families by not prosecuting those responsible for murder.
Lawyers Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh Sohanpal said they had been informed that the Attorney-General had decided to refer the case to a coroner despite previously directing that the deaths be investigated as murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
In a statement today, the lawyers described the decision as “not accountability or justice for the victims or families”, but “an abdication of his duties as Attorney-General and his constitutional responsibility”.
During a police operation at an oil palm plantation on Nov 24 last year, G. Logeswaran, 29, M. Puspanathan, 21, and M. Puvaneswaran, 24, were shot dead after one of them allegedly attacked police with a parang.
However, an audio recording later contradicted the police’s account of the incident and, in December, the Attorney-General’s Chambers directed that the case be reclassified as murder.
“The Attorney-General and the government have failed the families of the Durian Tunggal police shootings by failing to prosecute for murder,” they said.
The lawyers noted that the Attorney-General had earlier this year ordered the case to be investigated as murder, with dozens of witness statements recorded and the investigation papers reviewed on multiple occasions.
“Yet, when the moment came to make the decision that he alone is empowered to make, he instead referred the matter to a coroner,” they said.
Rajesh and Sachpreetraj argued that an inquest is necessary only where there is serious uncertainty or insufficient evidence regarding the cause of death.
“In this case, there is compelling audio evidence that the victims were captured alive by police before being executed, contradicting the police’s claim that they acted in self-defence,” they said.
They also cited post-mortem reports prepared by a government pathologist, which they said showed execution-style killings, with the downward trajectory of the gunshot wounds being inconsistent with self-defence.
“Based upon this evidence, murder charges should have been brought against all the police personnel involved. Instead, the Attorney-General has ordered a completely unnecessary inquest,” they said.
The lawyers stressed that an inquest was not a prosecution and could not substitute for criminal proceedings where sufficient evidence already existed.
“After an investigation of this scope and duration, and in light of the audio recordings and post-mortem reports, no important question of fact remains that requires inquiry before a coroner,” they said.
They further argued that continued delays would only weaken evidence, exhaust witnesses and deepen public perceptions that there were different standards of justice for police officers and ordinary citizens.
The lawyers said Article 145 of the Federal Constitution vested prosecutorial authority solely in the Attorney-General, and that responsibility could not be transferred to a coroner.
“The families have fully cooperated with every investigative process. They have grieved with dignity and waited patiently. They were entitled to a decision. Instead, more unexplainable delay and evasion,” they said.
Questioning the government’s commitment to accountability, they asked under what circumstances any police officer would ever be prosecuted for an unlawful killing if a case investigated as murder for months, supported by audio evidence and post-mortem findings, still failed to result in criminal charges.
They called on the Attorney-General to prosecute those responsible or resign, adding that the government must ensure the rule of law is upheld.
“The families of the victims and the Malaysian public await justice and will not forget or be silent,” they said.
The case has also caught the attention of Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, who earlier this month called on the Attorney-General to explain the prolonged delay in taking action over the fatal shooting.