Malaysiakini
Coroner: Detainee’s death caused by cops, inmates
The Seremban Coroner’s Court ruled today that the death of police detainee 42-year-old P Karuna Nithi two years’ ago was the result of assaults by both policemen and other lock-up detainees.
Coroner Jagjit Singh noted that Karuna Nithi, an engineer, had 49 injuries – mostly bruises – all over his body.
“My verdict is that Karuna Nithi’s death was caused by multiple injuries as a result of physical assaults, abuses and other unlawful acts by persons unknown but inclusive of police officers and other detainees in the police lock-up where the deceased was detained.
“Furthermore, his death is also due to the failure in providing him the necessary medical care and attention that was required and failure of the police officers to stop other detainees from abusing the deceased in the lock-up,” Jagjit said.
“His behaviour does not give reasons for him to be physically abused by police officers and the inmates,” the coroner added.
Karuna Nithi (above) was first remanded at Tampin district police station in late May 2013 following an altercation with his wife and further detained when his family could not raise his bail after he was charged in court.
He was found dead in a lock-up at the Tampin district police headquarters on June 1, 2013.
Jagjit, who is a Sessions Court judge sitting as coroner, said the deceased was a healthy adult male with no life-threatening diseases when he entered the police lock-up.
“But he ended up dead three days later with 49 external injuries. A custodial death with 49 external injuries should ring ‘alarm bells’ from the word ‘go’,” said Jagjit in his judgment.
Kicked hard by cop
This is the second verdict delivered by a coroner’s court on police liability for the death of a detainee. On Jan 16 in Kuala Lumpur, coroner Ahmad Bache had also ruled that the police acted unlawfully in denying medical attention to detainee P Chandran.
Police CCTV recordings from Karuna’s lock-up showed him being assaulted by policemen and other detainees while in the cell.
Testimonies in court also revealed that he was transferred a total of nine times from one cell to another and at one stage was even left in the corridor of the police station.
Lawyer Eric Paulsen, who appeared for the family, had detailed the assaults that Karuna suffered and submitted CCTV footage which among others showed a policeman opening the door to Karuna’s cell and kicking him so hard that he stumbled backwards and fell to the floor.
Other footage showed the assaults the deceased suffered from his fellow inmates during which he was punched and kicked.
The pathologist’s report from the Seremban general hospital listed the deceased’s list of injuries as bruises to the head, chest, abdomen, shoulders, arms, and legs.
Pathologist in spotlight
Co-counsel Dr Dheeraj Bhar submitted that the evidence showed that Karuna was ruthlessly beaten and that he died either due to skeletal muscle tissue damage or agitation of the heart.
Earlier in court, the forensic pathologist who conducted the post-mortem listed Karuna’s death as caused by ‘fatty change of the liver’.
Dheeraj, when contacted, said the coroner’s decision today was a landmark in that he agreed with counsel that the deceased could not have been killed as a result of a ‘fatty liver’.
“The coroner further described the pathologist report as erroneous. This raises a point of concern as the pathologist heads a department in Negeri Sembilan and Malacca but her knowledge is faulty.
“She needs to be investigated […] we will discuss with the deceased’s family and possibly lodge a report against the pathologist with the Malaysian Medical Council,” said Dheeraj.