The EAIC recommends that cops who inflicted hurt on deceased when he was in custody be charged.
- Beatings by cops linked to death
- Suspect died while under unlawful detention
- Police did not follow SOP, violated own codes of conduct
The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) tasked with overseeing the police force confirmed that the police were responsible for the death of S Balamurugan, who died under police custody in February last year.
The robbery suspect’s death is linked to beatings inflicted by police officers, the EAIC found.
“Our findings revealed the beatings Balamurugan was exposed to by police could have played a part, or directly caused his death,” EAIC chairman Datuk A Aziz Rahim said.
He said this view was supported by the results of two autopsies performed on Balamurugan at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang and Hospital Kuala Lumpur.
According to pathologists reports presented during the inquiry, the cause of death was revealed to be coronary artery disease compounded by multiple blunt force injuries.
“The cause of death also supports testimonies given by witnesses, who saw the deceased get slapped and punched while detained, and heard his screams of pain and pleas for help,” said Aziz.
The EAIC said police had also failed to follow an order by the Magistrate’s Court to release Balamurugan, after a request to remand him was rejected.
“It is a serious misconduct not to follow the court’s ruling,” Aziz said.
The remand was rejected due to Balamurugan’s poor health condition.
The court had also asked the police officers in charge of investigating Balamurugan to get immediate medical treatment for him.
“We have recommended that the Attorney-General’s Chambers consider taking criminal action against the police officers who have been identified of inflicting hurt against the deceased.
“We have suggested for criminal action to be taken, but whether charged with murder or not is the decision of the AGC (Attorney-General’s Chambers).
“They would then make the decision on what charge to use against the officers based on the evidence available,” said Aziz.
The commission also found that the police had breached several of the force’s standard operating procedures (SOP) and violations of their own codes of conduct while Balamurugan was under their detention.
When asked if the situation could have been avoided, Aziz said this was a likelihood if all SOPs were observed.
“We consider it as an avoidable situation, as human error had contributed the final outcome.
“It could have been avoided if the proper procedures were adhered to,” he added.
Balamurugan was arrested with K Tamilasan and a juvenile suspect by the Klang Utara district police motorcycle patrol unit on Feb 6 as the vehicle they were in at that time was suspected to have been used in a robbery.
The following day, while at the Klang Magistrate’s Court awaiting his remand hearing, Balamurugan told his family and lawyer that he had been beaten by the police in the lock-up, and complained of bleeding and difficulty in breathing.
On Feb 8, about 6am, two policemen arrived at Balamurugan’s house and informed his wife, Natthanan Yoochomsok, 38, that her husband had died.
His younger brother, S Balraj, went to Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah in Klang to identify the body and was shocked to see dried blood on his face. However, he was not allowed to examine the whole body.
Pathologists said then that Balamurugan died of heart failure.
The EAIC held a public hearing into his case after a second post-mortem showed he had suffered “multiple beatings” while in custody.
The public inquiry was held from May 15 before concluding on Jul 11, last year, after hearing testimonies from 47 witnesses out of the initial 55 that were to be called.
It was reported that two of the officers involved has already been charged over the incident.
Police inspector Mohd Noor Husri Johan pleaded not guilty to a charge of wrongful confinement under Section 342 of the Penal Code at the Klang Magistrate’s Court on Aug 8 last year.
Then on Oct 30, police inspector T Mohaneswaran claimed trial at the same Magistrate’s Court to a charge of voluntarily causing hurt to Balamurugan with the intent to forcefully extort a confession for an armed robbery case.
The press conference at the EAIC headquarters in Putrajaya yesterday also announced the commission’s findings on the custodial death of Soh Kai Chiok.
Aziz said the commission determined that Soh’s death in police custody was due to peritonitis due to perforated peptic ulcer and had nothing to do with possible misconduct of policemen during his detention at the Bera police station on Jan 18.
“However, the commission pointed out that standard operating procedures (SOP) were not followed when the police refused to take the deceased for treatment when he had complained of pains on the night of his death on Jan 17, 2017.
“The police also failed to ensure that the deceased received proper medication during his detention at the Triang police station lockup as prescribed by the medical officer at the Orthopaedic Department, Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Hospital, Temerloh,” he added.