KUALA LUMPUR – Roopan Karnagaran was counting down the days to June 29, when his appeal at court to clear his name of a murder conviction was to be heard.
However, the 25-year-old did not know that, just eight days before the hearing, he would become among a dozen-odd people to die in custody in recent months.
Adding to the tragedy is that he could have been saved had the police taken his medical condition seriously and allowed him to be treated at hospital instead of being confined to a rehabilitation room in Kajang Prison.
His uncle, K. Sevakumar, told reporters today that Roopan had complained of breathing difficulties and was admitted to Kajang Hospital on June 17.
“We were tipped off by prison insiders that he was admitted to hospital,” Sevakumar said.
“I called the hospital to ask about his condition and I managed to speak to one of the doctors, and was told that they found germs in his heart. He tested negative for Covid-19.
“He had to be warded for five to six days and he was on antibiotics,” he said.
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Sevakumar said he was told that his nephew was then discharged and brought back to the prison.
However, 24 hours after he was discharged, he died on the prison grounds.
“The prison authority called me and told me that my nephew actually tested positive for Covid-19,” he said today after the human rights NGO Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) submitted a memorandum on the incident to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).
Roopan had been imprisoned for involvement in a triple murder at his neighbour’s house in Dengkil in 2013 when he was 17.
In 2017, police said that they found his DNA at the crime scene, leading to him being convicted for the crime. He then appealed against the conviction.
Parti Sosialis Malaysia deputy chairman S. Arutchelvan, who participated in the press conference, said that post-mortem results showed Roopan died of blood clotting in the leg.
“The prison had hidden Roopan’s admission to the hospital from the family when they called them on June 17,” he said.
12th custodial death of the year
Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy said that Roopan’s demise marks the 12th custodial death this year alone.
He said prison insiders had told them that Roopan had been placed in a rehabilitation room (bilik insaf), usually meant for inmates who have committed disciplinary offences, after being discharged from Kajang Hospital.
“Why was someone who wasn’t well placed in that room?”
He said that a forensic expert had informed Roopan’s family that he may still be alive today if he had remained in hospital or if the prison authorities had paid closer attention to Roopan’s condition, Sevan said.
Meanwhile, Suhakam commissioner Datuk Madeline Berma said that the commission will conduct an impartial investigation into the deaths in custody.
“Suhakam takes this seriously; it involves a human life. This is not the first time it has happened. We are afraid it might not be the last.
“We want justice for the victims and their families,” she said.
For the record, Suaram revealed that Indians comprise 55% of custodial deaths.
According to the Statistics Department, there were 1,600 deaths in custody between 2010 and 2017. – The Vibes, July 9, 2021
