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Police were recently denied a remand order for five men who were arrested following a fatal shooting in Brickfields on Friday, 13 June, after a lawyer argued that they were victims, not suspects
The police had sought a seven-day remand under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, but Kuala Lumpur Magistrate Ainur Syuhada Jefri denied the request after hearing submissions from defence lawyer Sivahnanthan Ragava, who represented all five men, reported Berita Harian.
According to Sivahnanthan, his clients were not the shooters but friends of the deceased, who were seated at the same table when the attack occurred at a high-end Indian restaurant on Jalan Tun Sambanthan.
"They were not the shooters. They are the victim's friends and were also targeted in the incident," the lawyer told reporters yesterday, 17 June.
One of the men, Sivahnanthan added, was shot in the chest and remains in police custody while receiving treatment in the hospital.
"How can someone who was shot be treated as a murder suspect?" he asked, describing the use of Section 302 as inappropriate.
A screengrab from CCTV footage said to show the suspected gunmen.
Image via Malay MailThe defence lawyer questioned the rationale behind the police remand bid
He argued that if the authorities merely needed their statements, the correct legal procedure would have been to issue a notice under Section 111 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which compels witnesses to appear for questioning.
"If they failed to turn up, then a warrant could be issued. But to arrest and remand them outright as if they were suspects is wrong," he said.
Sivahnanthan also presented several video clips from social media to the magistrate, which he said showed his clients fleeing the chaos and trying to save themselves, not participating in the shooting, according to the Malay daily.
"It's not an offence to try and save your own life," he added.
He said the five men had cooperated with police for four days and questioned the basis for seeking extended detention.
"One of their friends is dead, another is fighting for his life in the hospital. Why are the survivors being treated like criminals?"
The lawyer said the court's decision to reject the remand order showed the importance of evaluating facts objectively and fairly.
"We don't want victims to end up being treated as suspects."
The shooting incident in Brickfields left one man dead and another critically injured. Police have not yet confirmed how many shooters were involved or the motive behind the attack.
Since then, Kuala Lumpur has seen another shooting, this time outside a mall in Cheras, where two men with alleged gang ties were ambushed and shot dead shortly after midnight earlier this week. The victims were both reportedly known to police and had extensive criminal records.
