"No. Why do you ask?"

"I am reading in the newspaper that two men were shot by the police in Sabah yesterday."

"What happened?"

"The police said they got a tip."

"They always say that. The police shootings are justified by saying they were responding to 'a tip'. It always seems to start with an 'anonymous tip'."

"Why do you say that?"

"Ali, if there were no police report, how would the police explain how they happened to be on the scene? That is the purpose of the 'tip-off.' It gives the police a reason to be present."

"Hmmm. The police shot two men."

"The police are good shots. They generally get their man right between the eyes. It saves the trouble of an investigation and trial. The expense is minimized, because the relatives bear the expense of burial."

"Ahmad, you are really cynical."

"Maybe so, Ali. But I have been observing the police for a long time. I know their procedures fairly well."

"Why don't you trust them?"

"Because they lie to keep from having to tell the truth. Being a policeman is equivalent to being a professional liar."

"Ahmad, that is too harsh. All policemen can't be liars."

"How do you know?"

"The police force contains all kinds of people. Many of them are just like you and I. Most of them wouldn't lie, especially under oath."

"OK, Ali, if you say so. What about the two men who were shot. What were they doing?"

"The police said they looked 'suspicious'."

"Why did they say that the two men looked 'suspicious'?"

"Because they were standing in front of a super market at night, 'acting suspicious'."

"Ali, what does that mean, 'acting suspicious'?"

"How do I know? The police said they were acting suspicious."

"So they shot them for 'acting suspicious,' is that right?"

"The police said the men ran when they were approached, or questioned .. I don't know which, it doesn't say."

"Ali, was it at night?"

"Yes, why?"

"Nothing. Go on."

"The two men split up, one ran one way and the other ran the other way."

"And the police shot them, right?"

"Not exactly. The police said that the men shot at them. One policeman was shot in the thigh or hip."

"Ali, when was the policeman shot ... before he shot the suspect, or after he shot the suspect?"

"It doesn't say. Why?"

"Ali, the policeman shot the suspect dead, right?"

"Yes."

"So the suspect couldn't have shot the policeman after he was dead, could he?"

"Of course not. He must have shot the policeman before the policeman shot him."

"The policeman was shot at by the suspect, and hit in the leg, right?"

"I suppose so."

"So the policeman was chasing the suspect in the dark, and the suspect shot him in the leg or hip. Then the policeman, who was shot in the hip, fired into the dark, and no doubt hit the fleeing suspect right between the eyes, is that right?"

"I don't know, Ahmad, it doesn't say. There are no details."

"So we must wait for the coroner's report, right?"

"Maybe there was an autopsy report. Maybe the wounds were described."

"Ali, does it say that the suspects were wounded and given treatment for their wounds?"

"No."

"The suspects were shot dead, running into the dark, because they 'were acting suspicious,' that is the story you are telling me?"

"Well, it is the story the police are telling."

"Ali, you asked me if I trust the police, didn't you?"

"Yes. I was just wondering."

"What kind of gun did the suspects have?"

"Let me see ... hmmm ... one had a .38 and the other had a Colt 45."

"Pretty big guns. What kind of guns do the police use?"

"I think they use the same kind of guns."

"Ali, were the guns recovered in the hands of the suspects?"

"No, they were recovered later, at the scene."

"Were the guns checked to see if they had been fired, or if they were loaded, or if they were even operable?"

"It doesn't say."

"Were the guns checked for fingerprints?"

"It doesn't say. It just says that they were found at the scene."

"And Ali, who found the guns?"

"The police said they found the guns."

"Were the guns carefully put aside for evidence later?"

"I don't know, Ahmad. Since the suspects were dead there probably wasn't any need for collecting evidence."

"Ali, do you find that in any way 'unfair' to the suspects?"

"Well, it says they were thought to be 'foreigners'."

"Does that mean they get separate treatment? Do we shoot foreigners on sight ... because they 'look suspicious'?"

"Hmmm ... that reminds me. The police just shot a man getting into a boat near Malacca. He was supposed to be a 'foreigner,' and as I recall he was shot in the head while trying to escape. He was suspected of stealing motorbikes."

"Did he have a gun, Ali?"

"I don't know. I can't remember. All I remember is that he was shot in the head by the police."

"And who told the story, Ali?"

"The police."

"Dead men can't tell their side of the story, can they, Ali?"

"No."

"And if there are no witnesses, the police story is the only story, right?"

"Right."

"Are you getting my drift, Ali?"

"Yep. I think I'll call the hospital to see if a policeman was admitted for a gunshot wound in the thigh. And then see if the pathologist's report is ready."