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Penang top cop: Custodial death doesn't necessarily mean violence by police

GEORGE TOWN, Jan 23, 2015:

Police will not hesitate to take action against their own men if elements of negligence involving custodial deaths are found.

Penang police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi said this when asked to comment on recent reports of three custodial deaths in the state.

“We will not compromise if it involves violence by our men,” he said after launching the Amanita scooter squad this morning.

The squad comprises 11 scooters for policewomen to patrol neighbourhoods to reach out to women, in a bid to advocate safety.

Meanwhile, on the custodial deaths, this month alone there had been three cases, on Jan 17, 18 and 21; two of which involved prison deaths and one while under police custody.

Abdul Rahim said police would still probe cases and reports about deaths even in prison and viewed such cases seriously.

“We hope the public do not speculate and jump to conclusions. Just because there is custodial death doesn’t necessarily mean violence by police but sometimes it also involves suicide, ” he added.