The Malaysian Insight

IT has been two months since P. Logitharan’s father was shot dead after allegedly trying to outrun police in a robbery that went awry.

That is not the only shocker for the 17-year-old, as his mother, Moganambal Govindasamy, who was with her husband that night, is still missing.

Moganambal, 35, disappeared on September 14 after her husband, Janarthanan Vijayaratnam, 40, and two others were killed in a police shoot-out in Rawang.

Janarthanan was a Sri Lankan with permanent residency in the UK.

He, his Malaysian brother-in-law and a Malaysian friend were killed by police in the early hours of September 14 after an apparent car chase that ended in a shoot-out.

Moganambal’s family said she was in the car with the three men, and have disputed police’s version of events. They are also seeking information on her whereabouts.

The couple, who lived in Portsmouth, England, were visiting relatives in Selangor in late August with their three children, aged 17, 10 and 5, the youngest of whom holds a British passport.

“We have no clue. We are waiting for her to come home,” Logitharan told The Malaysian Insight of his mother.

He and his siblings have returned to the UK, fearing for their safety.

P. Uthayakumar, a lawyer for the family, accused police of showing disrespect to the victim’s kin, who are still saddened by the incident.

He said police took 10 statements from Moganambal’s mother, sister and other relatives when they were in grief.

“The family maintain that Moganambal was with her husband the night they were shot.

“Police and the IGP (inspector-general of police) must be held responsible.”

Cops have not informed the family on the latest development in the case, said Uthayakumar.

“Until today, they’re not saying anything. The children are depressed because they really miss their mother.”

Selangor police chief Noor Azam Jamaludin confirmed that two of the three killed in the shooting in Jalan Rawang-Batu Arang were members of Gang 08 and involved in robberies in the state.

The suspects were identified as G. Thavaselvan, 31, and S. Mahendran, 23. The former is also Moganambal’s brother.

Thavaselvan and Mahendran’s identities were obtained through fingerprint checks with the National Registration Department, and they were identified as 08 Rawang triad members. Janarthanan’s stepdaughter identified him.

Noor Azam has repeatedly denied that Moganambal was in the car during the incident, and urged those with information to come forward.

Her family have sought the help of the Malaysian Human Rights Commission, saying they have CCTV footage that showed her out with the three men at 10.33pm on the night of the incident.

A location map sent from her phone at 1.38am led relatives to the scene of the shooting.

A police source allegedly told the family that she was shot in the leg and tried to run away.

Uthayakumar urged the British high commission in Kuala Lumpur to help find the missing mother.

“Malaysia has signed the convention on enforced disappearance.”

In international human rights law, a forced disappearance (or enforced disappearance) occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organisation, or by a third party with the authorisation, support or acquiescence of a state or political organisation, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person’s fate and whereabouts, with the intent of placing the victim outside the protection of the law. – November 13, 2019.