The Bar Council wishes to express its deep concern over the treatment of persons in police custody and in particular the death of a 21 year-old boy, Francis Nathan on 25th October 1999.
The Bar Council was shocked to read newspaper reports on 26th October 1999, wherein the father of the boy stated that the boy had various injuries on his face and body and the cause of death given by the police to the father as per the newspaper report of 26th October 1999 was HIV.
However the cause of death stated in his death certificate is “Meningitis”. An inquest has yet to be held.
The Bar Council is alarmed at the rising number of assaults, abuses and deaths of members of the public held under police custody and wishes to remind the authorities that by virtue of Section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Code an inquest must be held when such a death occurs. The Bar Council accordingly calls for an immediate inquest to be held in the case of Francis Nathan who died four months ago.
The Bar Council wishes to state that these matters are of grave concern not only to the members of the legal profession but also to the public at large. To this end the Bar Council intends to set up a Panel of Lawyers for Defence of Civil Liberties. The Council feels the setting up of this Panel will be timely as recent news reports confirm that the Commissioners for the National Human Rights Commission will be appointed in June this year. With the setting up of the Panel of Lawyers for Defence of Civil Liberties the Bar Council hopes to assist members of the public who may wish to bring up complaints to the Human Rights Commission.
The Bar Council also calls on the Minister for Home Affairs to issue a directive calling the police to forthwith give intimation of death of any person in their custody to the nearest Magistrate who shall be required under the law to hold an inquiry into the cause of death. Under Section 337 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the Magistrate is required to inquire when, where, how and after what manner the deceased came by his death and also whether any person is criminally concerned in the cause of death.
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International Malaysia Law Conference (26 to 28 Sept 2012) Hurry up! The countdown continues and the current promotion rate ends 30 June 2012. Don't miss what is going to be the best conference in the region! On top of that, if you sign up with 5 or more people from the same organisation, we will give you a 10% group discount. Click on the link above to register.
Dialogue with Criminal Law Practitioners (26 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council, this dialogue will take place at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, at the Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Bar Council, on 26 May 2012 (Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
Conference on Competition Law (31 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council with the support of LexisNexis, this conference will take place at 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, at Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, on 31 May 2012 (Thursday). For more details or to register, please contact Vilashini Vijayan (03-2050 2095; vila@malaysianbar.org.my). Click on the link above for more details.
Talk on What Clients Want (7 June 2012) Organised by the KL Bar Practitioners' Affairs Committee, the talk, presented by Ong Eu Jin, will take place at 5:00 pm, at the KL Bar Auditorium, on 7 June 2012 (Thursday). Click on the link above for more details.
4th LAWASIA Family Law Conference, Penang (13 and 14 July 2012) Supported by Penang Bar Committee and the Malaysian Bar, this conference, themed “The New Global Family: Emerging Trends and Challenges to Family Practice”, will take place at Traders Hotel, Penang, on 13 and 14 July 2012 (Friday and Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
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Circular No 110/2012: Seminar on Introduction to ICC Arbitration: An Insight into the 2012 ICC Rules
