KUALA LUMPUR: NGO Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (CAGED) today called on the police to swiftly investigate the claim by the wife of Amri Che Mat, who has been missing since Nov 24, 2016, that police might be behind his abduction.
In a statement, CAGED said individuals involved in the abductions must be brought to justice, no matter how senior their positions.
CAGED was referring to a statement by Norhayati Mohd Ariffin that a police informer had told her that her husband was taken by the same team from Bukit Aman that was responsible for the disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh.
“This police officer, who asked not to be named, told us that he knew who had taken my husband Amri,” she said, and named a top police officer in charge of Bukit Aman Special Branch’s Social Extremism Division (E2) as the person who headed the operation.
CAGED said the allegation was serious and consistent with evidence presented during an inquiry conducted by the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) into the disappearance of several people.
It said this latest disclosure explained the manner in which the police had “conducted themselves and the little progress made in their investigations”.
It said the resolution of these cases would go a long way in restoring the people’s confidence in the police and bringing closure to the victims’ families.
“If the victims are alive, they must be released and restored to their families immediately.
“CAGED is heartened to know that Suhakam has decided to reopen its public inquiry into Pastor Raymond Koh’s abduction after it was stopped when the PDRM charged Lam Chang Nam, an Uber driver who was initially charged with extortion.”
CAGED urged new Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and home minister-designate Muhyiddin Yassin to “expedite the closure of this dark and shameful chapter in our nation’s history, where citizens can ‘disappear’ without a trace or answers from the PDRM”.
In explosive twist, wife says Amri nabbed by same cops who took Pastor Koh