Death in police custody – S. Suria Ramesh, (Kota Setar district police lock-up, 22 November 2008)

A year ago today, 29-year-old S. Suria Ramesh reportedly died in the Kota Setar district police lock-up two days after he had been arrested in Kulim.

Despite the requirement that all custodial deaths be investigated by inquiries conducted pursuant to Chapter XXXII of the Criminal Procedure Code, it is not clear that an inquest has been conducted into S. Suria Ramesh’s death.

Every death in custody must be thoroughly and impartially investigated. S. Suria Ramesh’s death must not be relegated to a mere statistic.

Based on the Royal Malaysia Police’s statistics, 85 persons died in police custody between 2003 and 2007 alone.

We express our heartfelt condolences to S. Suria Ramesh’s family and friends on this anniversary of his death.

Malaysian Bar
22/11/09

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