Victim’s family allege negligence in latest custodial death.
The man who died under police custody at the Shah Alam central lock-up had suffered from fever, stomach-ache, diarrhoea and lack of appetite for four days, said Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
The Health director-general said that Thanabalan Subramaniam, 38, had suddenly fallen unconscious on Tuesday (April 17) and was immediately brought to the Hospital Shah Alam Emergency Department and was confirmed dead by a medical officer there.
“The cause of death is still not known and we are still waiting for the post-mortem report carried out by the hospital,” he said in a statement on Thursday (April 19), adding that Thanabalan had been detained in the lock-up since March 29.
Dr Noor Hisham said that 10 other detainees had also fallen ill and complained of similar symptoms.
Following an investigation, of the 10 cases, nine had complained of mild symptoms such as cough and cold while one had stomachache and diarrhoea, he said.
Seven of them were given treatment while in the lock-up by the medical team from Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Klang, while three others were referred to Hospital Shah Alam for treatment and were subsequently allowed to leave.
“The ministry will continue to monitor the situation,” he said.
Kapar MP G Manivanan had issued a statement earlier alleging that there were elements of negligence and failure on the part of police to refer Thanabalan to doctors and medical services, resulting in his death.
He said that the postmortem, which took almost four hours and was conducted by Dr Nur Ayutimasery from Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Klang, was overseen by a doctor appointed by the family.
The family has since lodged a police report to urge for an official inquiry into the cause of death.
Thanabalan was arrested by police 20 days ago and detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) for suspected involvement in organised crime.
He was arrested in front of SJK (C) Soo Jin on March 29, while sending one of his children to school.
Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Mazlan Mansor said the suspect was found unconscious at the Shah Alam central lockup at about 8.20pm on Tuesday (April 17).
Shah Alam Hospital reported that Thanabalan was taken to the hospital in a state of unconsciousness, with no pulse at 8.33pm on April 17.
The hospital performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but it was unsuccessful.
Thanabalan was declared dead at 9.05pm on April 17.
“All detainees, as well as personnel in charge at the lock-up, will be screened as there might have been a viral disease,” he said.
Thanabalan’s death has led to questions by civil society groups on the police’s commitment to putting an end to custodial deaths.
Lawyers for Liberty executive director Eric Paulsen asked if the police had acted quickly enough to treat Thanabalan if he was indeed unwell.
“A healthy person does not just die suddenly unless he has a heart attack or something equally serious. If it was an infection, his health would’ve deteriorated over time.
“There are standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place, but clearly these aren’t being followed, or else Thanabalan would have been given medical attention sooner.
“As long as the police do not follow their own SOPs and are not answerable to an independent commission, custodial deaths will continue to happen,” he was quoted saying.
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) executive director Sevan Doraisamy noted that this was the second custodial death this year, and the third after Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun became the country’s top cop last September.
“We don’t see any interest or will to end custodial deaths.
“We want to have a meeting with the police, Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia and other civil societies on this matter,” he was quoted saying.
According to previous news reports, 1,654 people died in police custody from 2010 until February 2017.