Court orders cops to return Kugan's samples

The Magistrate Court today ordered the police to return the forensics samples of A Kugan, who died in police custody early this year, to Universiti Malaya Medical Center (UMMC).

Magistrate Ho Kwong Chin made the ruling after hearing submissions by lawyer N Surendran, the counsel for Kugan's mother, N Indra, and deputy public prosecutor Hanim Mohd Rashid, who represented the police.

"After hearing submissions by both parties, the court orders that the specimen and other items seized to be returned to UMMC immediately," he added.

Indra had filed the application to compel the police to return all items, documents, tissue samples and bodily fluids to the UMMC pathology department as she wanted to sent them to a medical centre in Australia for toxicology tests to determine whether Kugan was given any injection prior to his death in January this year.

Police officer charged

Kugan, 22, was arrested on Jan 15 on suspicion of being involved in car theft activities but was found dead later.

On Oct 1, a police officer from the USJ police station pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court to two charges of causing grievous hurt to Kugan.

The case made headlines after a video clip revealed severe lacerations on the deceased's body, whom the first post-mortem report declared had died of fluid accumulation in the lungs.

However, a second post-mortem commissioned by the family revealed that Kugan had been beaten and deprived of food prior to his death. - Bernama