Police must clarify why no officers have been detained to assist investigations into the shooting that killed three men in Durian Tunggal, Melaka, last month, said Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng.
Lim said that detaining individuals linked to a case is standard procedure in murder investigations under Section 302 of the Penal Code. To date, none of the police personnel involved in the early-morning operation on Nov 24 — which resulted in the deaths of the three men — have been detained.
The MP noted that two days have passed since the Attorney-General’s Chambers (A-GC) directed that the case be reclassified as murder.
“Malaysians do not want history to repeat itself. In the Altantuya Shaariibuu case, authorities failed to act firmly from the start, allowing a convicted police officer to flee to Australia and remain there. The same risk exists in the Melaka case. So what are the police waiting for? Is someone being protected?” Lim said.
He also urged Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail to provide answers. “The public wants answers, not excuses. Whoever gave instructions to shoot the three men and whoever opened fire must be identified and brought to court,” he added.
The three men, alleged to be serial criminals, were shot dead after one reportedly attacked police with a parang. Melaka police initially classified the case as attempted murder. However, lawyers representing the victims’ families claimed that audio recordings and forensic evidence suggested the men were killed “execution-style.”
On Tuesday, the A-GC ordered the case to be reclassified as murder. Melaka police chief Datuk Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said the force accepted the decision and confirmed that the investigation had been handed entirely to Bukit Aman.
