Saturday, October 3, 2009
Proof of lies, claims Waytha's lawyer - Malaysiakini
Lawyer N Surendran has provided a letter which purportedly shows that the British Home Office received instructions from the Malaysian government to return Hindraf leader P Waythamoorthy's passport.
"Waythamoorthy's (left) passport was returned to the Malaysian government upon their request," said Surendran, who is representing the Hindraf leader.
Referring to a letter from the UK Border Agency, Surendran said the Malaysian government had revoked the Hindraf leader's passport on April 21, 2008 and therefore he was refused exit and detained for two days at Gatwick airport.
His passport was seized by the British immigration and handed over to the Malaysian authorities.
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had said on Oct 1 that Waythamoorthy's passport was never cancelled nor confiscated, and that it was kept at the Malaysian embassy in Britain.
Apology sought from Hisham
P Uthayakumar, elder brother of Waythamoorthy and Hindraf legal adviser, has demanded both the current and former home ministers to apologise for "lying about the status of his passport".
Waythamoorthy left for London two years ago to flee from being allegedly detained under the ISA.
The Hindraf leader has continued with his activism in London for what he calls 'the marginalised Indian community.'
He has been granted political asylum in Britian and currently travels on a British document which does not allow him to return to Malaysia.
Waythamoorthy's wife, Shanti (left), who was also present at the press conference, said the separation with her husband had deprived her young daughter of her father.
An emotional Shanti said that her "husband has committed no crime and I am very proud of him for standing up for the Indian community."
"We call on the government to give an explanation to the lies perpetrated by His
"Waythamoorthy's (left) passport was returned to the Malaysian government upon their request," said Surendran, who is representing the Hindraf leader.Referring to a letter from the UK Border Agency, Surendran said the Malaysian government had revoked the Hindraf leader's passport on April 21, 2008 and therefore he was refused exit and detained for two days at Gatwick airport.
His passport was seized by the British immigration and handed over to the Malaysian authorities.
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had said on Oct 1 that Waythamoorthy's passport was never cancelled nor confiscated, and that it was kept at the Malaysian embassy in Britain.
Apology sought from Hisham
P Uthayakumar, elder brother of Waythamoorthy and Hindraf legal adviser, has demanded both the current and former home ministers to apologise for "lying about the status of his passport".
Waythamoorthy left for London two years ago to flee from being allegedly detained under the ISA.The Hindraf leader has continued with his activism in London for what he calls 'the marginalised Indian community.'
He has been granted political asylum in Britian and currently travels on a British document which does not allow him to return to Malaysia.
Waythamoorthy's wife, Shanti (left), who was also present at the press conference, said the separation with her husband had deprived her young daughter of her father.An emotional Shanti said that her "husband has committed no crime and I am very proud of him for standing up for the Indian community."
"We call on the government to give an explanation to the lies perpetrated by His
Court orders cops to show seized Kugan material
By Neville Spykerman - The Malaysian Insider
PETALING JAYA, Oct 2 –The High Court here today ordered police to produce toxicology samples of A. Kugan, who died in police custody, before the magistrate's court next Friday.
The samples were seized by police from the University Malaya Medical Centre on April 6 when they raided the office of the pathologist who had conducted the second post-mortem on the 22-year-old who died on Jan 20.
High Court Judge Datin Yeoh Wee Siam ruled that the search was legal but the police should have produced the samples before a magistrate.
Yeoh said the magistrate on Friday will decide what should be done with the samples and if Kugan's family should keep them.
On May 28 N. Indra, Kugan’s mother, filed an application to compel the police to return all items, documents, tissue samples and bodily fluids which were seized from UMMC pathology department, on April 6.
Kugan died on Jan 20, after five days in police custody. He had been arrested in connection with a string of luxury car
Following his death, 11 policemen from the Taipan USJ police station was transferred to desk duty but yesterday only a single constable, V.Navindran was charged for causing grievous hurt to Kugan.
Lawyers acting for Kugan’s family told reports that the samples which was taken by the second pathologist was more crucial now, more than ever, because it may proof that Kugan was actually murdered.
They had argued that the samples should not have been seized in the first place and there is no reason for the Government to keep them.
N.Surendran said they been fighting hard get the samples back so it can be sent to chemist in Australia for analysis.
“The decision by the High Court today, was neither a victory or a loss.”
He added that samples rightfully belong to the family who initiated the second post-mortem and had nothing to do with the police case.
Surendran also lashed out at the Attorney-General (AG) for further “tormenting” Kugan’s family by charging only one suspect and even that, not for murder.
According to him, the AG had also used the family’s court applications to get the samples return as an excuse to explain why it took nine months to charge the suspect.
“This is absurd, he instructed for the samples to be seized in the first place and now he blames the family for causing the delay.”
He added the AG’s claim that the delay was also because of an ongoing probe by Malaysia Medical Council (MMC) into Kugan’s death, was not true.
The MMC inquiry is not about Kugan’s death, he said, but into the professional misconduct of the doctor who carried out the first post-mortem.
“I should know, because I was the one who lodged the complaint with MMC,” he said.
The first post-mortem at the Serdang Hospital indicated Kugan died due to water in his lungs but a second one which was carried out by UMMC revealed he suffered massive injuries and this led to concerns of an attempted cover up.
“The AG is just giving excuses but this is obvious.”
Lawyer M. Manogaran, who is also representing Kugan’s family described the Government’s reluctance to return the samples as “disturbing”.
“We believe the samples may prove he was actually murdered,” said Manoharan, who is also Teluk Intan MP.
Letter from the Hindu American Foundation to Anwar Ibrahim
The letter from HAF..
Honorable Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim
Opposition Leader and Former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
Dear Mr. Anwar Ibrahim,
Malaysia has already been a country of particular concern for our Foundation in light of the numerous Hindu temple destructions, custodial battles in Shariah courts involving at least one Hindu parent, the arrest and persecution of Hindu-Malaysian leaders, and Bumiputra laws that discriminate against the minority communities.
More recently, we wrote to Ambassador Karuppannan to protest the vulgar, religiously provocative, and racially incendiary act by a Muslim-Malaysian mob demanding that the government rescind the orders for relocating
the Sri Mariamman temple in Section 23 of Shah Alam. The countenance by local police of Muslim provocative acts is added cause for alarm in a country that is already facing volatile racial and religious issues. We are gravely concerned about the law and order situation in the country, and the state's unwillingness to firmly clamp down on the religious bigotry of the Muslim majority. Such tensions only bring about a greater sense of insecurity amongst the Hindu residents.
The Hindu American Foundation is pleased to have noted your concern about the “Arabisation” of Malaysia. Therefore, we hope that you will pressure the Malaysian government and Malaysia’s state and local officials to do
more to protect the rights of Hindu Malaysians and to ensure that Hindu temples will not be desecrated or destroyed. We also urge you to do more to ensure full equality for all Malaysians by ending discrimination in the
allocation of public funds and land for places of worship between Muslim and minority religious groups.
We also urge you to work for repeal of the Internal Security Act and not allow peaceful Hindu protestors to be detained under this repressive Act.
Our Foundation has made the following recommendations to the U.S. and British governments and human rights groups:
1) Religious freedom should be allowed and encouraged for ethnic Malays and the minority religious populations in the country.
2) Religious minorities should not be forced to deal with the country’s Islamic Sharia’s courts.
3) The United States, United Nations, the international community, and human rights groups should pressure the Malaysian government to protect Hindu temples from desecration and destruction. Hindu places of worship that existed prior to independence should be designated as temple property and title to
the land should be handed to the respective temple trustees/committees as has been done for preindependence era mosques.
4) The Malaysian Government should be urged to not discriminate in the allocation of public funds and land for places of worship between Muslim and minority religious groups.
5) The Internal Security Act must be repealed and Hindu leaders prosecuted under the repressive Act should be immediately released.
The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) is an advocacy group providing a progressive voice for over two million Hindu Americans. The Foundation interacts with and educates leaders in public policy, academia,media and the public at large about Hinduism and global issues concerning Hindus, such as religious
liberty, the portrayal of Hinduism, hate speech, hate crimes and human rights. By promoting the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism, HAF stands firmly against hate, discrimination,defamation and terror. The Hindu American Foundation is not affiliated with any religious or political
organizations or entities. HAF seeks to serve Hindu Americans across all sampradayas (Hindu religious traditions).
I would be pleased to meet further to discuss the issues concerning our Foundation and other human rights groups about Malaysia and to hear your views.
Sincerely,
Mihir Meghani, M.D.
President and member of the Board of Directors,
The Hindu American Foundation
Defence counsel says no indication from A-G’s Chambers that others would be charged
Indra : Still traumatised by her son’s death
CONSTABLE Navindran Vivekanandan claimed trial to causing grievous hurt to detainee A. Kugan when he was charged in the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court yesterday.
Navindran, 28, pleaded not guilty to two principal charges of causing grievous hurt to Kugan to extort a confession from him or any information which may lead to the detection of an offence or misconduct, at the interrogation room of the D9 office of the Taipan police station, USJ Subang Jaya, at 7am and 4pm on Jan 16.
He also pleaded not guilty to two alternative charges of causing hurt to Kugan at the same place and time.
The main charges carry a maximum 10-year jail term and the alternative charges seven years’ jail upon conviction.
Both also carry the liability of a fine. Deputy public prosecutor Idham Abd Ghani asked the court to set bail at RM10,000 with one surety for all the charges, saying that these were serious charges and the case had received wide media coverage.
Surendran : Delay should not be blamed on the family
Defence counsel Datuk Salehuddin Saidin, however, said media coverage was not a factor for consideration and asked that bail be set at RM1,000 as Navindran had cooperated with the police and also had a wife and children to look after.
Judge Aslam Zainuddin allowed bail of RM10,000 with one surety and fixed Nov 5 for mention.
Salehudin told reporters that so far there was no indication from the Attorney- General’s Chambers that others would be charged in connection with the case.
Meanwhile, Kugan’s mother is disappointed that the police constable is not being charged with the murder of her son. N. Indra, who spoke to Malay Mail yesterday, was in tears, saying that this was an injustice.
“The whole of Malaysia knows that there was more than one person involved in beating up my son and yet it takes so long for them to identify the people and then only charge one of them for causing hurt when it’s also known that my son died because of their doing,” she said.
Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, in a statement on Wednesday, said the policeman would be charged with voluntarily causing grievous hurt to extort a confession from Kugan.
The 23-year-old died on Jan 20 after five days in police custody at the USJ police station lock-up to assist
police in investigations into luxury car thefts.
Indra said as a mother she was still traumatised by her son’s death and all she wanted was justice.
“Everything is before our eyes. The policeman who was charged was even offered bail for such a crime and my son was not even given a chance. What is going on?”
Kugan’s family lawyer N. Surendran, when contacted, disagreed with Gani’s explanation in the media statement on why Navindran could not be charged with murder.
“The reason given by the A-G is that there is no evidence that Kugan suffered an instant death. Instead,
he died four days after the alleged beating. Therefore, there was a wide gap in-between and a charge of murder could not be preferred against the suspect. We refute that claim completely,” he said.
He also refuted the claim by the A-G that referred to the findings of the medical report where it did not show that the deceased died due to the injuries suffered by him, but was the result of acute myocarditis, a viral infection of the heart.
Surendran said the second post-mortem report, which showed the severity of the beatings that led to cellbreakdown, which in turn led to kidney failure, could have easily led to the arrest of the policemen involved.
Surendran added that the A-G’s claim for the delay in pressing charges was caused by the family was “absolutely untrue”.
“Being aware that the family was looking forward to sending the samples to Australia for further examination, why was there a need to order the police to seize the samples?” he asked.
Surendran said the delay should not be blamed on the family but on the A-G’s Chambers for seizing the samples for a toxicology report to be carried out to find out if any poison was administered.
He said the A-G’s Chambers was well aware that the samples were to be sent to Australia. - Malay Mail
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