C. Sugumaran- beaten to death while handcuffed – 23 Jan 2013Pua Bee Chun- shot 20 times- died on spot – 18 Jan 2013Chang Chin Te- died under police custody – 14 Jan 2013

THIS IS JUST TIP OF THE ICEBERG!

These are only a few cases which have just occurred in the first month of 2013 but from 2000 till August 2011, a total of 209 individuals have died under police custody. The numbers keep increasing year by year with no concrete solution to the problem and the police seem to enjoy a free pass after committing these crimes themselves. When a citizen kills someone, he is faced with life sentence or even the death penalty, What about all those referred to as “criminals” who have died in the hands of different state agencies with no action taken against the perpetrators. Isn’t their life worth the fight? In the past few years, we are seeing an increase in public outcry and demand for justice for those who were killed; however, this killing doesn’t seem to end!

Our Prime Minister who is facing the next general elections has been very silent on this issue and has not made any move to condemn the actions nor implement the IPCMC which was recommended after the RCI in 2005 on Police Brutality. The need for IPCMC is at the most urgent now especially when the killing are getting more frequent with no avenue for the public to complaint or seek justice for the death. You need an INDEPENDENT BODY who will MONITOR the police and has THE POWER to PROSECUTE the police.

Hence, The Stop State Violence Coalition which was launched on the October 2012 would like to call all members of civil society to join us for a round table discussion on this issue. As the matter is of great urgency, we have to stand united in pushing for the call to set up IPCMC and also to push for concrete changes in the system and SAYING NO to empty promises by the state to end this impunity.

We hope to have at least one representative from each organization to take part in this discussion. We hope to see u in the discussion.  Details of the program are as below:

Date: 20 Feb 2013 (Wednesday)Time: 8pmVenue: Dignity International Office, KL Kindly call or sms Theva 013-3845740 for confirmation on your attendance.

Tentative Programme8.00 pm: Intro on Stop State Violence Coalition and 7 demands, 8.30 pm Updates on current statistics & cases of police victimization 8.45 pm Discussion: What can the civil society do to end this killing? Campaign Plan-Light Refreshments.

-Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)