KUALA LUMPUR: The family of Noorizwan Zulkefly, who died in police custody at the Cheras police headquarters, has expressed relief and gratitude over Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's attention to the case.
His eldest sister, Noorlien Zulkefly, 49, said the family was grateful that Anwar had personally taken an interest in the case and called for a full, transparent investigation without compromise.
"We are deeply grateful. We are ordinary citizens, and it means a lot that the prime minister mentioned our family and my late brother by name," she said when contacted today.
She said this was why the family had submitted a memorandum to Anwar's residence to seek justice.
On Sunday, Anwar said he had contacted Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohd Khalid Ismail for an update and called for a prompt and transparent investigation into Noorizwan's death.
In a Facebook post, Anwar also acknowledged that the victim's family had submitted an appeal letter to him.
Noorlien said the family had approached the prime minister directly because they felt earlier proceedings had been misrepresented, despite their presence alongside senior Bukit Aman officers and a doctor during the post-mortem.
She also welcomed Khalid's statement that unusual injuries had been found on the deceased.
"When I heard the IGP say this morning that there were unusual injuries, and that it came directly from him rather than a junior officer, we saw it as a new development," she said.
However, Noorlien said the police had yet to formally contact the family with an update on the investigation, despite Anwar's assurance that developments would be communicated to them regularly.
She stressed that the family and public wanted justice and transparency, without any attempt to conceal the facts.
"We want one thing: arrests, charges and the case to proceed to court. We want to know who was responsible," she said.
Noorlien also hoped to meet Anwar in the near future to personally thank him for his attention to the case.
Noorizwan, 42, was arrested by Cheras police on Sept 19 to assist in investigations under Section 39A(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, as well as Sections 457 and 379 of the Penal Code.
He was referred to Canselor Tuanku Muhriz Hospital in Cheras for treatment on Sept 30 and was pronounced dead at 1.52am the following day.
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