KUALA LUMPUR – The attorney-general has initiated a coroner’s inquest into the death of A. Ganapathy, who died aged 40 after a month in hospital following allegations of beatings at the Gombak district police headquarters.
Ipoh Barat MP M. Kula Segaran said some 25 witnesses will be called to testify in the inquest after yesterday’s case management and deliberation with the coroner at the Shah Alam court complex.
The next case management will be on March 10.
Kula Segaran and lawyer V. Vemal Arasan represent Ganapathy’s wife M. Rajah Malar.
“His wife Rajah Malar has since approached us to hold a watching brief on this matter and subsequently to sue the relevant authorities for Ganapathy’s death,” Kula Segaran said in a statement.
Last March 7, Ganapathy was taken to the Emergency and Trauma Department’s Yellow Zone while in police custody to have his injury treated. The next day, the department confirmed the appearance of necrotising fasciitis on the right ankle, which caused Ganapathy’s breathing difficulty.
At 12.30am on March 9, he was taken to the intensive care unit, and an orthopaedic specialist confirmed there was no longer blood flow to Ganapathy’s right leg. A decision was 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 then Gombak police chief Arifai Tarawe.
“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.”
Police requested an autopsy on April 18, and two days later, a sudden death report was initiated to investigate the cause of death.
A post-mortem by Kuala Lumpur Hospital’s National Forensic Medicine Institute found that Ganapathy died of possible sepsis stemming from complications during treatment for necrotising fasciitis, but the full report has yet to be released.
Ganapathy’s mother S. Thanaletchumy lodged a police report after her son’s death, alleging that he was beaten with a rubber hose by police while in custody, resulting in the amputation.
His family said his health went downhill because of the beatings, and that his swollen and bruised legs were evidence of the violence. – The Vibes, February 23, 2022
