‘No amount of character assassination or moral policing obscures police shooting’

Rajesh Nagarajan the Sachpreetraj Singh – the lawyers for the families of the Durian Tunggal police shootout victims’ families regarded the action of Melaka police chief, Datuk Dzulkhairi Mukhtar as disgraceful and deliberate diversion.

“No amount of character assassination or moral policing will obscure the central fact: three lives were taken without any legal basis, and the police must be held fully accountable under the rule of law.

“The statement issued by the Melaka Police Chief regarding the marital status and alleged past criminal record of Madam Jayashree who is connected to one of the deceased and who recorded the audio, is a disgraceful and deliberate diversion from the real issue before the nation,” they said in a joint statement.

“Let me state this plainly: whether Jayasree was legally married or had any prior record is entirely irrelevant to the killing of three men by police gunfire on 24 November 2025. These comments have no bearing whatsoever on the legality, necessity, or proportionality of the use of lethal force by the police.

“This is not an inquiry into moral or personal relationships. This is an inquiry into state-perpetrated killing.

“The attempt to publicly dissect private lives appears calculated to smear the dead and their families, distract public attention, and pre-empt accountability. Such tactics are unbecoming of a senior law enforcement officer and undermines public confidence in the integrity of the investigation.

Dzulkhairi revealed that Jayasree was not the wife of the victim and had 10 criminal records. He also claimed that Jayasree’s father had 24 prior criminal records and is wanted for two cases.

Rajesh and Sachpreetraj also highlighted that the disgraceful of the Melaka police chief raises questions.

“More troubling is that, while the police chief finds time to comment on irrelevant personal details, statements from the officers who fired the fatal shots have yet to be recorded. This alone raises serious questions about transparency, impartiality, and possible institutional self-protection.”

They pointed out that the police only need to answer the following questions:

“Why were three men shot dead when the evidence shows they had been restrained and had committed no violent acts?

“Who authorised lethal force?

“Was there lawful excuse?

“Why is there resistance to an independent investigation?

“Why is the Melaka police chief issuing public statements on the shooting, when Bukit Aman has taken over the probe? He has no business interfering in the matter or issuing such statements.”

The three victims – Puspanathan Murulitharan, 21; Poonesvaran Tiagarajan, 24; and Logeswaran Georgie, 29 – were killed on November 24.

A recorded phone conversation and Melaka Hospital pathology department revealed that the three were in police custody before they were shot.