Wife of man shot by cops wants independent probe

IPOH: The widow of a man who was shot dead by police and labelled as Perak’s “most wanted man” is asking for an independent investigation into her husband’s death, alleging that he was wrongfully killed.

The man was shot twice by police when he came out of his car and fired three shots at the police after crashing into a culvert at Kampung Gajah in May.

In a press conference held shortly after the shooting, Perak police chief Datuk Hasnan Hassan was quoted as saying that the 40-yearold man, believed to be from Gang 04 as well as the state leader of Gang Pam, was high on the wanted list for robbing heavy vehicles since last year.

However, widow R. Vaijentimala, 41, claimed it to be a wrongful shooting after receiving the post-mortem report of her husband two months ago and wants the case to be investigated as murder.

Her lawyer N. Surendran alleged that there was something questionable about the trajectory of one of the bullets which pierced the deceased’s body.

He said according to the report, one of the bullets was lodged in the deceased’s chest at a 40-degree angle.

“At such an angle, it suggests that the person who was shot was underneath the person holding the gun.

“This wouldn’t have happened in a direct shootout with the police. How could there be such discrepancies between reports given by the police and doctors?” he told reporters after lodging a police report yesterday.

Surendran said they are calling on the Home Ministry to provide a valid explanation while demanding for all police personnel involved in the shootout to be suspended.

“We also urge for an independent investigation to be conducted in a professional manner and reclassify this case as murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code,” he said.

Vaijentimala, who was carrying her nine-month-old daughter, said justice must be served for her daughter and herself.

“My daughter was just two months old at the time.

“On the day my husband was shot, he was supposed to attend his nephew’s wedding the next day. He was in charge of planning the wedding.

“This is just too devastating for us and we want justice,” she said.

How could there be such discrepancies between reports given by the police and doctors? N. Surendran