Speaking to FMT, Ayob said he went through the group’s statement and denied the police shot the suspects to prevent them from running away.

“There is no question of (the suspects) running away,” he said.

“The suspects fired at us (police) first. They think we fired because we wanted to stop them (suspects) from running away.

“Ask them to read and understand my oral and written statement first (before commenting).”

In a statement yesterday, Eliminating Deaths & Abuse in Custody Together (EDICT) questioned whether police adhered to their standard operating procedures (SOPs) when they shot dead four suspected armed robbers in Batu Pahat, Johor, on Friday.

Ayob said he is awaiting a full report on fingerprints found at the scene before issuing further statements on the case.

The NGO yesterday questioned whether police SOPs on shootings, as stated in the Inspector-General of Police’s Standing Orders D222, were followed during the incident.

Stating that the SOP calls for the discharge of a weapon to be made within reasonable grounds, EDICT questioned why the police did not shoot at the suspects’ legs first, as stated in the standing order.

Ayob said the shooting occurred when a team from the state contingent’s Criminal Investigation Department stopped two cars which were being driven in a suspicious manner.

Upon approaching the cars for inspection, two suspects suddenly acted aggressively and fired a few shots at the policemen, with the other two suspects starting to attack the police with a machete and a dagger, injuring one officer.

Ayob said the police then fired back at the suspects in self-defence.