Lawyers representing the families of three men fatally shot by police in Durian Tunggal have raised serious concerns about the integrity of the ongoing investigation, stating that police officers who fired their weapons have yet to be interviewed.
Lawyers Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh issued a statement last night alleging that police have “explicitly acknowledged” that none of the personnel involved in the shooting have provided statements. Instead, investigators have only recorded the testimonies of three family members of the deceased and four medical professionals.
According to the lawyers, this omission represents a fundamental failure in investigative procedure. “In any lawful investigation into the use of lethal force, the first mandatory step is recording statements from the officers who discharged their firearms,” they said.
They added that the near two-week delay since the November 24 shooting heightens concerns of potential interference, including the risk of officers aligning their narratives, contamination of evidence, and systemic institutional bias.
The lawyers are pressing for not only immediate questioning of the officers but also for public disclosure of the chain of command involved in the operation and independent oversight from external agencies to ensure transparency and accountability.
“Until these steps are taken, this investigation cannot be considered valid, lawful, or trustworthy,” they added.
Meanwhile, police investigators have begun collecting additional evidence. Family members of the deceased were summoned to Bukit Aman yesterday to provide statements, including handing over a mobile phone believed to contain an audio recording connected to the case. CyberSecurity Malaysia assisted in obtaining voice samples for analysis.
Police previously received a compact disc believed to contain a recorded phone call between one of the victims and his wife shortly before the shooting.
Authorities initially labelled the deceased as members of the “Durian Tunggal gang”, which they claim has been linked to over 20 robbery cases in Melaka, as well as incidents in Negeri Sembilan and Selangor.
According to the Melaka police chief, the shooting occurred after one of the men allegedly attacked an officer with a machete, forcing officers to respond with gunfire.
The families of the men — aged 21, 24 and 29 — have rejected the police’s version of events and are calling for a fully independent investigation.
