Penang Shootout: Victims' Family Can Request For Inquests, Even If They Were Gangsters

Family members of the five gangsters killed in a shootout with police early Monday morning can ask for inquests to be held, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri.

freemalaysiatoday.com

"If there is a need to hold an inquest, they (families) could request for it. It is just that the case is still under police investigation. After the investigations, they could then make a presentation to the Attorney-General's Chambers for an inquest.

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She said the government would not set aside the right to defend oneself even if it involved criminals. “There is no problem in holding an inquest as we have agreed that each state has a court coroner to handle such cases,” she told.

themalaymailonline.com

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar today denied that police had a "shoot-to-kill" policy in reference to the five suspected thugs who were shot dead in Penang on Monday.

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He hit out at critics who had questioned why the five could not have been arrested instead of being shot "execution style".

"There is no such policy of 'shoot-to-kill'. Who told you there is a 'shoot-to-kill' policy? We only shoot to defend ourselves," he said at a press conference held during a Hari Raya open house in Kuala Lumpur today.

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He said: “When police personnel died in Lahad Datu defending the nation, we were accused of staging a drama. When shooting cases became rampant, we were accused of sitting on our butts and not doing anything.

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“And when criminals are shot dead, we are accused of being overzealous and cruel. What charade are these people playing?

“We don’t care what the critics say, we have a duty to carry out, and we will carry it out to ensure that Malaysians are safe,” he stressed.

malaysiaedition.net

DAP has demanded for an inquiry into the shooting of five men by the police in Penang, which has led to allegations that they were executed.

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Puchong MP and DAP National Legal Bureau chairman Gobind Singh Deo said if police could not justify their action, it must face the consequences.

themalaysianinsider.com

He urged the Attorney-General to give an assurance that there will be an open inquiry and that there would be no cover up into the matter.

Some 500 family members and friends of three of the five men killed in a police shootout gave them an elaborate send-off with a funeral procession accompanied by drums and firecrackers.

The three – N. Rakan, 25, M. Suresh, 25, and R. Ramesh, 27 – were cremated in separate incinerators at the Batu Gantung crematorium at 5.40pm yesterday.

The three bodies were sent off in Mercedes-Benz hearses, two of which bore giant floral wreaths depicting the Hindu swastika. The other hearse had a wreath designed in the letter “N” with a small swastika sign and another resembling twin gold coins.

The two other men who were also killed in the shootout – J. Gobinath, 31, and M. Gobinath, 21 – were cremated and buried respectively at a Hindu cemetery in Jalan Siram, Butterworth.

A floral wreath designed with the word “GOBI” together with a picture banner bearing the titles of “Gobi Butterworth” and “King of the Ring” as well as a message “We will miss u 4ever Bro” were seen on the hearse.

About 15 people were later seen carrying M. Gobinath’s coffin into the cemetery to be buried. A lorry with a “04” flower decoration was also spotted.

Family members of the five men shot dead by police are demanding an explanation for the shooting. More than 50 family members and friends of the deceased gathered outside the Penang mortuary last night seeking answers.

A family member said the bodies were claimed by their respective family members from 9.30pm onwards on Monday. He said they only claimed the bodies after lodging police reports.

Accompanied by their lawyer, Seri Delima assemblyman RSN Rayer, families of the four deceased have lodged separate police reports but with the same contents at the Jalan Patani police station here.

freemalaysiatoday.com

In their reports, the families said they were not satisfied with the police press statement that the deceased were gang members and were wanted for several murders.

freemalaysiatoday.com

They reported that they saw several bullet marks on the deceased when they were called on to identify the bodies at the forensic centre in Penang Hospital.

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Some of the disgruntled relatives of the dead men also took the police to task for allegedly being brutal and for being "trigger happy".

nst.com.my

Some of them vented their anger by hurling helmets into the mortuary compound and hurled accusations at the police, including one who said the five had been shot "like animals".

malaysia-today.net

“Why did they have to shoot the men when they could’ve just fired a warning shot? They were all sleeping inside. I believe the police could have easily apprehended them,” the One of the deceased’s uncle, S. Nadarajah, said.

"I am not accepting the accusation that my relative was linked to the underworld. How can they just shoot a person without bringing him to court? This is unacceptable."

V.R. Murugasen, 52, the father of one of the men: “My son has no criminal record, so how can he be affiliated to the gang? I think the police are lying just to cover their backs.

“The five of them grew up together and had just moved into the apartment three days ago. There were very close and some of them would come over to my house for meals,” he said.

Lawyer and DAP assemblyman for Seri Delima R.S.N. Rayer also joined in and described the shootout as a "brutal slaying". "The police should not have taken the law into their own hands. "The five men should have been detained and charged in court over their alleged wrongdoings.

malaysia-today.net

“Even if they did have criminal records, they should have been arrested and brought to court to be charged and not brutally gunned down,” he said.

"I was shocked as some relatives of the deceased claimed the bodies had more than one gunshot wound in the head," Rayer said when met at the mortuary.

nst.com.my

“I’d like to call on Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and Penang police chief Senior Deputy Comm Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi to provide the deceased’s families with a satisfactory explanation.

GEORGE TOWN, Aug 19 - Police raided a service apartment in Sungai Nibong here Monday and shot dead five men believed to be members of the 04 Gang.

msn.com

Penang Police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi said the five -- J. Gobinath, 31, R. Ramesh, 27, A. Vinut, 23, M. Suresh, 25, M. Gobinath, 21 -- had committed armed crimes in the country.

He said police recovered three guns from them, namely a silver Norinco, a silver .38 revolver and a black Walther PPK.

The men, in their 20s and 30s, are believed to have been involved in at least 10 cases of shooting in the state this year.

msn.com

Police claim that the five were members of a notorious secret society, alleging that they were criminal suspects wanted for several murders and firearm offences.

freemalaysiatoday.com

The five gangsters who were killed in a pre-dawn shootout at an apartment unit here were linked to 10 murder cases and two attempted murder cases in three different states.

"We ran a test on the firearms and it was proven that they were used in at least 12 murder or attempted murder cases. We were shot at first before we acted in defence and shot them down".

“One of the five killed is believed to be the leader of the group but there are still other members of the gang that we are still hunting down,” he said. Khalid said the gang is not only based in Penang but moves around other states according to orders given by their leaders.

themalaymailonline.com

Police said the five gang suspects were killed in an exchange of fire when police moved into their hideout in the northern state of Penang.

themalaysianinsider.com

In the 4.30am incident, a police team from the Serious Crimes Division (D9) broke down the door of a unit on the 11th floor after their knocks went unanswered.

The police knocked on the door and identified themselves but there was no answer and police tore down the door and entered the apartment, he said. Several people in the apartment started firing at the police and the police returned fire.

bernama.com

Following the shootout, police checked the apartment and found five men dead in the three rooms.

Abdul Rahim said the police were still conducting an examination of the apartment.

fz.com

It is learnt that the police have been monitoring the apartment over the past four months and had acted today based on public information that gunshots were heard within the unit.

Abdul Rahim said that following a tip-off from the public and surveillance, a team of police officers and men from the Penang, Kedah and Bukit Aman CID went to a rented apartment in Sungai Nibong, at 4.30 am.

bernama.com

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