The police personnel, who the Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission said "murdered" a man in custody, must face justice, human rights movement Suaram is demanding.

"We urge that those responsible for this case - the police personnel - be brought to court to face action.

"The Attorney-General's Chambers must act urgently in order to bring justice to those accused of causing the death of Syed Mohd Azlan, as found by the EAIC," Suaram said in a statement to Malaysiakini.

The EAIC in its investigations found Syed Mohd Azlan Syed Mohamed Nur, 25, was "murdered" by police personnel, who beat him up in the police station lock-up in Sungai Rengit, Johor, on Nov 3, 2014.

Syed Mohd Azlan (photo) suffered 61 injuries to his face, body and legs, some of which were consistent with "defensive wounds while protecting himself from physical attack by police personnel", the EAIC found.

The EAIC also found evidence that police personnel cleaned the scene of the beatings before the medical officers arrived to check on Syed Mohd Azlan.

The police also disposed the rubber mat and carpet believed to have been stained with the blood of the deceased.

The personnel also "hid away eye-witnesses" from the scene, the EAIC said.

EAIC: Charge them with murder

The commission found several "serious breaches" to the police arrest procedure, including:

• The use of a personal, and not standard issue, handcuffs on the deceased, resulting in injuries;
• Abetment to willfully cause physical harm to the deceased, leading to his death; and
• Mismanagement of the seized items;

The EAIC said the personnel involved had committed crimes under Sections 302 (murder) and 325 (causing grievous hurt) of the Penal Code, and that they should be charged in a court of law.

Lauding the EAIC's work, Suaram said the damning report shows that torture still continues in police detention.

"We condemn any form of torture, especially torture to death, for its breach on fundamental human rights," Suaram said.

"Death in custody - a fate worse than the death penalty - is something that happens all year long, when neither should not happen at all."

Syed Mohd Azlan, a welder, was arrested on Nov 3, 2014, after a police report was lodged over a brawl involving a firearm in September that year.

He was arrested by 13 police personnel, who ambushed the room he rented in Pengerang, Johor, the EAIC said.

He was then taken to the Sungai Rengit police station and questioned on the brawl and if he had kept firearms. No firearm was found in a police search at the Syed Mohd Azlan’s family home.

He was then taken to the Kota Tinggi police district headquarters for the remand procedure, but was noticeably weak and unresponsive on the way there.

Personnel escorting him then rushed him to a nearby clinic, where he was declared dead.

Resource : Malaysiakini