KUALA LUMPUR – The high court here today ruled in a civil suit that the authorities were responsible for unlawfully detaining and assaulting Balamurugan Suppiah, resulting in his death while in custody more than five years ago.
According to Lawyers for Liberty director Zaid Malek, judge Datuk Ahmad Bache held that police and the government were liable for Balamurugan’s demise in a ruling over the suit filed by the deceased’s family.
“The court ruled that they (police and the government) were liable for negligence, unlawful imprisonment, breach of statutory duty, assault and battery against the deceased, which caused his death,” Zaid, who represented the family, said in a statement today.
The defendants were represented by senior federal counsel Norfauzni Mohd Nordin.
Zaid said damages that will be granted to Balamurugan’s next of kin will be assessed by the senior assistant registrar.
Balamurugan died on February 8, 2017, aged 44, while in custody at the North Klang district police headquarters.
Previously, it was reported that the court then had denied his remand application after the magistrate supposedly witnessed him vomiting blood and ordered for him to be taken to the hospital or be released.
Police, however, defied this order and took him back to the station, where he later died.
The post-mortem report by Kuala Lumpur Hospital found that his death was caused by coronary artery disease with multiple blunt force injuries.
During a hearing by the Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission which looked into the case, two pathologists confirmed that Balamurugan had died of blunt force trauma, which they said had aggravated his heart problem.
Several detainees who were with him at the police station during the latter’s detention had also testified that they were beaten by an officer.
Balamurugan’s case was among several high-profile custodial deaths that have rocked the country in recent years. – The Vibes, August 30, 2022
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