Govt’s appeal in Kugan’s case politically motivated and unjust

The government has today filed a notice of appeal against the June 26 decision of KL High Court Judge V T Singham who had found that the IGP and police force had covered up Kugan’s death in police custody. The notice of appeal is dated 12 Julai 2013 and was served upon me this afternoon as the solicitor for Kugan’s family.

 

The appeal is unnecessary, unjust and causes further suffering to the family of Kugan, and particularly his grieving mother Madam Indra Nallathamby. Home Minister Zahid Hamidi has now ruthlessly carried out the threat he made on June 30 2013 that he would appeal the Kugan decision. It is obvious that Zahid and the government are indifferent to the terrible suffering of Kugan’s family and to the fate of countless Malaysians who are victims of torture and abuse in police custody.

 

In Kugan’s case, there is clear evidence of torture and murder by police. In the post-mortem report UMMC pathologist Dr Prashant Samberkar had recorded 52 horrendous injury marks on Kugan’s body and concluded that Kugan had been beaten to death. Despite this, Zahid, the A-G and the government have obstinately proceeeded with the appeal.  It is clear that the appeal has political motives and is related to the ongoing public clamour for the IPCMC to be set up. Justice Singham himself had called for the setting-up of the IPCMC in his landmark judgement.