Families of 3 shot dead want PM's intervention, royal commission of inquiry
PETALING JAYA: Families of the three men shot dead by police in Durian Tunggal, Melaka, on Nov 24 want Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to intervene and convene an urgent meeting with the Home Ministry, saying the incident warrants nothing less than a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI).

Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan said the gravity of the evidence, including a 13-minute 53-second audio recording capturing the moments leading up to the deaths of the three men, demanded immediate action from the highest levels of government.

“We urge the prime minister to step in, order an urgent meeting with the Home Ministry and consider establishing an RCI.

"This is not a shootout, it's an execution. The truth must be uncovered,” he said at a press conference at the LFL office today (Wednesday).

The families of the deceased — M. Puvaneswaran, 24; M. Pushpanathan, 21; and G. Logeswaran, 29 — echoed the call, saying they no longer trusted the police to conduct an impartial investigation.

At the press conference, LFL and non-government organisation, Agamam Ani, played the recording, captured by Logeswaran’s wife, Jayasri, 31, who had remained on a call with him until the moment gunfire rang out.

Agamam Ani founder Arun Dorasamy said the audio contradicted the police’s account, adding that the trio had been heading to Kuala Lumpur for a special 48-day religious prayer observance, not to commit burglary.

In the recording, Logeswaran is heard telling his wife that an unmarked Perodua Aruz had been trailing them. She repeatedly urged him to head to the nearest police station.

Minutes later, their vehicle stalled. The call then captured shouts, commotion and pleas for help.

One of the men can be heard saying: “Jangan, saya ada anak” (Please don’t, I have a child) — just before loud, rapid bangs consistent with gunshots, rang out.

Agamam Ani’s appointed forensic scientist, G. Venodthan, CEO of Thistlegorm Forensic, said the audio contained no sounds indicating the presence, handling or use of weapons, contradicting reports that the men had attacked police with machetes.

“There is absolutely no audible indication of the victims attacking officers. No sounds of struggles. The men appeared confused but compliant,” he said.

He said the only audible references were to a vehicle bonnet and a walkie-talkie.

This assessment contradicted earlier media reports stating police had seized machetes from the scene.

Calling the incident “an execution”, Arun said the families now possessed what they described as unprecedented evidence of police wrongdoing.

“For the first time, we have real-time audio capturing the immediate lead-up to a police shooting. It debunks the narrative that the men attacked officers. The public can hear for themselves what happened,” he said.

Arun said the forensic findings, together with post-mortem reports showing downward bullet trajectories, further supported the conclusion that the men were shot while restrained.

“It is very obvious that all of them must have been kneeling down. This must have been an execution-style killing. That is the only way it would make sense that a bullet travelled top-down from the nose and lodged in the heart,” he said.

Arun added their timeline reconstruction showed:
1.38am — Puvaneswaran shot
1.39am — Pushpanathan shot twice
1.40am — Logeswaran shot after pleading “jangan…”

He said the recording suggested the men had already been restrained when shots were fired.

“There was no threat that justified lethal force. Public confidence has been shaken,” he said.

Puvaneswaran and Pushpanathan’s parents, who were also present, broke down when the recording was played.

Jayasri, who brought along her four-year-old daughter, was visibly shaken.

Trembling as she spoke to the Press, she said she had replayed the audio countless times since her husband’s death.

“He told me the car was breaking down and that they were scared. Then I heard shouting. Then gunshots,” she said.

“My husband did nothing wrong. He was going for a religious function and was due to start fasting for 48 days.”

The two siblings father, A. Murali, said the family had not slept since the shooting.

“My son was only 21. He had no criminal record. How do we accept that he was executed by those meant to protect us?” he asked.

LFL lawyer Sachpreetraj Singh Sohanpal said the next-of-kin has submitted six demands, including the opening of a murder investigation; immediate suspension of all officers involved in the shooting; suspension of any personnel suspected of fabricating or planting evidence; intervention by the Federal Cabinet; and consideration of an RCI.

Melaka deputy police chief Datuk Dzulkhairi Mukhtar had previously said the trio were suspected members of “Geng Durian Tunggal” and had ambushed officers during Op Casa Melaka, slashing a police corporal on the arm.

The New Straits Times has reached out to Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk M. Kumar for comments.
Link: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2025/12/...n-what-happened

Backstory: https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=5547572&hl=