Cops vow no cover-up in probe into detainee death
Cops vow no cover-up in probe into detainee death
By LOURDES CHARLES
PETALING JAYA: Selangor police have vowed there would be no cover-up in investigations into the death of a suspected car thief who collapsed and died inside the Taipan police station in USJ, Subang Jaya during questioning.
PETALING JAYA: Selangor police have vowed there would be no cover-up in investigations into the death of a suspected car thief who collapsed and died inside the Taipan police station in USJ, Subang Jaya during questioning.
State police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said police were investigating the case under Section 330 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt to extort a confession.
“I can assure the family of A. Kugan and public that there will be no cover-up. If the post-mortem report indicates that force was used, leading to Kugan’s death, then we will take action against those responsible.
“Everyone should wait for the post-mortem report before jumping to conclusions or politicising the issue,” he said.
DCP Khalid said Kugan, who was arrested on Jan 15, was being questioned in connection with a car theft syndicate that was believed to have international links.
He said Kugan had led police to the recovery of 15 luxury cars from a warehouse in Puchong that were being readied to be shipped off overseas by the syndicate he allegedly worked with.
“We were in the midst of obtaining more information from him regarding his involvement with the syndicate’s activities when he was brought to the Taipan police station.
“The car theft syndicate is believed to be one of the biggest in the state and our officers were getting intelligence from him on that day,” he added.
Kugan, who was detained on Jan 15 on suspicion of being involved in stealing luxury cars in Sungai Chua, Kajang, was brought to the Taipan police station on Tuesday where he suddenly collapsed and died while being questioned.
He had asked for a glass of water and threw up after drinking, then collapsed. The policemen present immediately summoned a doctor from a nearby clinic to examine Kugan, who was pronounced dead minutes later.
His body was sent to the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre for a post-mortem to determine the cause of death.
His family had told police that Kugan suffered from asthma.
Barged into mortuary
In a related incident, the assistant medical officer (MO) from the forensics department on Wednesday lodged a report alleging that family members and unknown people had barged into the cold room where Kugan’s body was being kept.
DCP Khalid said Mohamed Azharuddin Abdul Ghani in his report claimed he and two colleagues were forced out of the room by the crowd that came to the hospital at about 11.30pm Tuesday.
He said Mohamed Azaharuddin also claimed that the family members and the crowd of some 50 people left the mortuary only at about 2.30am Wednesday after they had identified and examined the body.
“The MO alleged that when he went back to the cold room he found the shirt Kugan was wearing had been ripped and torn apart, and there were also spots of blood on the floor,” he added.
Kugan’s family also lodged a report at the Subang Jaya police headquarters claiming the police were responsible for Kugan’s death. They also refuted claims by police that Kugan had suffered from asthma.
The family’s lawyer N. Surendran said that the wounds and scars on the body was evidence enough that the police had caused Kugan’s death.
“The police are responsible for this horrible murder and we will not rest until justice is done,” he said.
He also refuted claims that the victim’s body was tampered with at Serdang Hospital when family members and some members of the public had rushed into the mortuary and took pictures of his wounds.
“All they did was open up his shirt and turn the body around to examine his injuries,” he claimed.
seals: "Barged into mortuary" .... can be a "escape door" made for the responsible people to pass the blame to the people who barged into the mortuary? Does the picture below builds more questions in you?
Picture was taken from Malaysiakini (http://media1.malaysiakini.com/163/45c263570fbcf15dee4cd67420e082f0.jpg)
Comments