KUALA LUMPUR – A. Ganapathy, who died in police custody, did not raise any complaints about being allegedly beaten or tortured prior to his death, said Gombak police chief Arifai Tarawe.
In a statement today, Arifai said Ganapathy never complained about any physical violence when he was brought to the magistrates’ court on February 25, March 2 or March 6 this year to extend his remand order.
“No complaints about being beaten by the police were made to the medical officer and the assistant medical officer that treated the victim on February 28, March 3, March 6 and March 7, 2021.
“Investigations are still ongoing and the investigation paper will be forwarded to the Attorney-General’s Chambers, including a recommendation for an inquest. Any new developments will be announced,” he said.
Arifai said that Ganapathy already had a pre-existing cut on his right ankle before he was arrested and had been taken by the police to Selayang Hospital for treatment four times before his death.
On March 7, he was taken to the hospital’s Emergency and Trauma Department’s Yellow Zone while still in police custody to treat his injury.
The next day, the department confirmed the appearance of necrotising fasciitis on his right ankle, which was causing Ganapathy’s breathing difficulty.
On March 9 at 12.30am, he was taken to the intensive care unit (ICU), and an orthopaedic specialist confirmed there was no longer any blood flow to Ganapathy’s right leg. The decision was then made to amputate the leg above the right knee to save his life.
“(Only) the victim’s right leg was amputated and not both of them, as reported by a news portal,” said Arifai.
“At 1.15am on March 10, the victim’s right leg was amputated and on March 30 at 9am, a second amputation was done at the same area.
“On April 18, at 11pm, the victim was confirmed to have died at Selayang Hospital’s ICU after being treated for 43 days there from March 7.”
The police had requested an autopsy on April 18, and on April 20, a sudden death report was initiated to investigate the cause of death.
The autopsy by Kuala Lumpur Hospital’s National Forensic Medicine Institute had found that Ganapathy had died due to possible sepsis stemming from complications in treating the necrotising fasciitis but the full report has yet to be released.
Ganapathy’s mother, S. Thanaletchumy, had lodged a police report after her son’s death, claiming he had been beaten with a rubber hose by police in custody, resulting in the amputation.
His family claimed his health went downhill because of the beatings, and that his swollen and bruised legs were evidence of the violence. – The Vibes, April 30, 2021
