Death in custody – Samiyati Indrayani Zulkarnain Putra (Wangsa Maju police station, 12 Sept 2006)

Four years ago yesterday, 45-year old Samiyati Indrayani Zulkarnain Putra died in police custody at the Wangsa Maju police station.

The mother of five was found dead in her cell three days after her arrest on 10 Sept 2006, and the police classified this as sudden death.

According to the post-mortem report, Samiyati Indrayani Zulkarnain Putra’s death was due to intra-cerebral hemorrhage with intra-ventricular extension and perforated gastric ulcer. However, when her brother, Monashofian Putra, saw her body in the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, he reported that Samiyati Indrayani Zulkarnain Putra had bruises on her face, body, legs and neck.

Monashofian Putra lodged a police report and urged the police to investigate, among others, the bruises, the reasons why the police had not sent Samiyati Indrayani Zulkarnain Putra to the hospital immediately when they informed him, via a text message, that she was in a serious condition, and why the doctor only arrived two-and-a-half hour after her death.

Despite the requirement that all custodial deaths be investigated by inquiries conducted pursuant to Chapter XXXII of the Criminal Procedure Code, it does not appear that an inquest has been conducted into Samiyati Indrayani Zulkarnain Putra’s death.

Every death in custody must be thoroughly and impartially investigated.  Samiyati Indrayani Zulkarnain Putra’s death must not be relegated to a mere statistic.

Based on the Royal Malaysia Police’s statistics, 85 persons died in police custody between 2003 and 2007 alone.

We express our heartfelt condolences to Samiyati Indrayani Zulkarnain Putra’s family and friends on the anniversary of her death.