Melaka police chief Dzulkhairi Mukhtar yesterday said a woman falsely claimed that one of the men shot dead by police in Durian Tunggal, Alor Gajah, last month was her husband, Bernama reported.
Dzulkhairi said the woman – who recorded an audio clip of the incident – and the man were actually in a relationship and had lived together for three years, adding that the woman had a criminal record, with 10 cases related to criminal offences, since 2012.
Lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan, who is representing the families alongside Sachpreetraj Singh, told FMT that Dzulkhairi’s comments were a “disgraceful and deliberate” diversion from the real issue at hand.
He also said it was troubling that while Dzulkhairi had the time to comment on “irrelevant personal details”, statements from the officers who fired the fatal shots have yet to be recorded – which Rajesh said raised serious questions about transparency, impartiality, and possible institutional self-protection.
“Whether she was legally married or had any prior record is entirely irrelevant to the killing of three men by police gunfire on Nov 24,” he said.
“These comments have no bearing whatsoever on the legality, necessity, or proportionality of the use of lethal force by the police. This is not an inquiry into moral or personal relationships. This is an inquiry into state-perpetrated killing.
“The attempt to publicly dissect private lives appears calculated to smear the dead and their families, distract public attention, and pre-empt accountability. Such tactics are unbecoming of a senior law enforcement officer and undermines public confidence in the integrity of the investigation.”
“Instead of suspending and investigating this incident before Bukit Aman took over, the Melaka police chief did nothing. And now he has the audacity and temerity to try and spin a different narrative by attacking the only ‘ear-witness’ to this murder?”
Melaka police had initially classified the incident as attempted murder after Dzulkhairi claimed that the trio were serial robbers who had attacked an officer with a parang.
However, lawyers representing the families of M Puspanathan, 21, T Poovaneswaran, 24, and G Logeswaran, 29, said an audio recording and forensic evidence suggested that the men were killed execution-style.
Last Sunday, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Ismail said police have received a CD which contained an audio recording believed to be that of a phone conversation between one of the men who was shot and his wife before the incident.
He pledged that police would investigate the shooting thoroughly and professionally, without compromise, to determine whether any wrongdoing had occurred.
The case has led to calls for an inquest and an independent inquiry, while Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim ordered the police to ensure the investigation was done transparently.
The IGP was also instructed to submit a detailed report to home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail once the Bukit Aman criminal investigation department (CID) had concluded its investigation.
Rajesh also asked why Dzulkhairi was issuing public statements on the shooting when Bukit Aman had already taken over the probe.
“He has no business interfering in the matter or issuing such statements,” said Rajesh.
“No amount of character assassination or moral policing will obscure the central fact: three lives were taken without any legal basis, and the police must be held fully accountable under the rule of law.”