KUALA LUMPUR – A post-mortem on security guard S. Sivabalan, 43, who died at the Gombak district police headquarters yesterday, showed his death to have been caused by a heart attack, and not physical injuries.
In a brief statement, Selangor police chief Datuk Arjunaidi Mohamed said the post-mortem results showed that Sivabalan died of acute myocardial infarction – in other words, a heart attack.
Sivabalan’s case has been classified as a “sudden death report”, and the full findings will be submitted to the deputy public prosecutor with a recommendation to hold an inquest.
Arjunaidi said the post-mortem checks were witnessed by the deceased’s family members, and they were informed of the cause of death by Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
The autopsy was conducted at the hospital’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine from 9.30am to 1.30pm.
Sivabalan died less than an hour after being taken in at the Gombak police station yesterday afternoon.
A Facebook video posted by the account of former Tamil radio station DJ Sri Shankar Ganesh, better known as “Funky” Shankar, showed the victim’s sister saying she was informed by police that her brother was in critical condition at Selayang Hospital about 3pm.
She said an officer then informed her mother that Sivabalan died due to breathing difficulties and asked her to make her way to the hospital’s Forensic Department.
“Till now, we are still unaware of what happened to him, except that the policeman also told me that Sivabalan died at 12.25pm,” she said in the video.
In the same clip, Sivabalan’s mother said he was called to the police station over an investigation into a 2016 extortion case.
Gombak district police chief Arifai Tarawe had said the probe into Sivabalan’s death was ongoing, with the case classified as sudden death, pending the outcome of the post-mortem.
In a statement last night, he confirmed that police from the district Criminal Investigation Department detained Sivabalan about 11.20am at the security post of a factory in Taman Selayang Baru.
“The suspect was reportedly wanted, in relation to a criminal intimidation case, at the Gombak police station for documentation purposes.
“After the suspect arrived at 11.40am, while at the Gombak station’s office, he suffered breathing difficulties.
“Police then contacted Selayang Hospital for emergency aid.
“An ambulance team arrived at the scene and administered emergency resuscitation.
“Selayang Hospital’s assistant medical officer then confirmed that the suspect died at 12.30pm.”
Initial investigations revealed that Sivabalan had a history of heart disease.
Arifai added that the man had two criminal records, one for drugs and the other over a criminal offence, in which he was classified as wanted.
Sivabalan’s death comes less than a month after the same police station was embroiled in controversy over the death in custody of cow milk trader A. Ganapathy.
Ganapathy died in hospital on April 18, more than a month after being taken there from the station on March 8. – The Vibes, May 21, 2021
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