http://malaysiakini.com/news/97126

‘Morgue raid’: Deputy ministers can face action

MCPX

incident where a crowd entered the Serdang Hospital mortuary, said Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar.

The duo, both deputy ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department, were present at the mortuary on Tuesday when the crowd entered to examine the body of Kugan Ananthan who died while in police custody.

“No minister or member of the administration is above the law and if you have committed an offence then you have to face the consequences,” Syed Hamid was quoted as saying by Bernama.

He also said that the 11 policemen being investigated for allegedly causing hurt to Kugan would not be spared action if they were found to have abused their powers.

The minister spoke to reporters before attending a public forum on the Internal Security Act (ISA) in Johor Bahru last night.

Kugan, 22, who was detained on Jan 15 at the Taipan police station in Subang Jaya on suspicion of being involved in the theft of luxury cars in Sungai Chua, Kajang, died while being questioned on Tuesday.

Second post-mortem

Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar had said a post-mortem found that Kugan had died due to fluid in his lungs but Kugan’s family sought a second post-mortem, insisting that Kugan had died of injuries.

Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail said later that Kugan’s death had been classified as murder.

Meanwhile, Devamany was among nine people questioned by the police today in relation to the morgue incident.

The others are Kapar MP S Manikavasagam, Teluk Intan MP M Manogaran, MIC Youth chief T Mohan, lawyer N Surendran, three journalists and an unidentified person.

The statements of the nine were recorded at the Sepang police headquarters.

‘No trespassing or break-in’

Speaking to reporters later, Devamany said he had recounted what had happened on Tuesday night and cooperated with the police.

“There was no trespassing or break-in. It was under control and we followed procedures,” said Manikavasagam.

Surendran, counsel for the family, said the mortuary was open to the public to enable them to see the bodies of family members.

“According to the law, the next-of-kin have the right and authority to see the bodies of family members, take pictures…the bodies belong to them,” he said.

On the forum, organised by a non-governmental organisation called The Patriot in collaboration with the Home Ministry, Syed Hamid said the ministry was ready to hold similar forums throughout the country to enhance the public’s understanding of the ISA.

He said such forums were an important platform for the government to get input on the ISA from the people.

The ISA, which provides for detention without trial, has been denounced by critics as a draconian law, especially when used to silence political dissenters.

Civil society groups have called for the amendment or even abolishment of the security law