The Malaysian Insight

THE Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has started its investigation into the shooting and killing of three men in Batu Arang, Rawang, and will be interviewing police officers involved in the incident soon.

Suhakam commissioner Jerald Joseph said the investigation is based on complaints lodged by the affected families.

In the incident on September 14, a police team had shot at three men suspected to be criminals. All three, including a UK resident of Sri Lankan origin, 40-year-old Janarthanan Vijayaratnam, died on the spot.

Jerald told The Malaysian Insight that Suhakam has already interviewed some family members as well as several senior police officers.

“We are investigating this case. We will be meeting several other individuals, including the police officers involved in the shooting.

“We will be interviewing them in the near future,” he said.

He added that it is normal for Suhakam to interview everyone involved in the case.

“We have met the Selangor police chief Noor Azam Jamaludin and the state CID chief. They have assured us their full cooperation,” he said.

He also said Suhakam will be looking into various aspects of the case as part of their investigation, including looking into the police patrol vehicle’s dashcam.

Jerald said the commission’s investigation will also try to answer the question on the whereabouts of Janarthanan’s wife G. Moganambal, 35.

She is also the sister of one of the victims.

Family members previously informed Suhakam that Moganambal was with the three men that night, and that they had been informed by an unidentified policeman that she was also shot dead by the cops in the incident.

The family had also provided a CCTV footage taken at her brother’s apartment lobby to Suhakam to show that Moganambal had left together with the men that night.

Janarthanan and Moganambal are both permanent residents of the UK and had visited Malaysia with their children for holiday when the incident happened.

The three men were killed by police in the early hours of September 14 after an apparent car chase that ended in a shootout.

Selangor police chief Noor Azam confirmed that two of the three killed in the shooting in Jalan Rawang-Batu Arang were members of Gang 08 and were 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. – November 23, 2019.