Penang police are under scrutiny again after yet
another custodial death. In the latest incident, 37-year-old labourer
Murugan Muniandy died at the Seberang Jaya Hospital, from severe sepsis
secondary to pneumonia two days ago.
The
father of three, who lives with his mother in Teluk Indah, Prai, was
arrested for suspected drug possession at his house at 1.30pm on March
31.
The next day, he was sent to the Bukit Mertajam Hospital and was warded for five days before being sent to the Seberang Jaya Hospital.
Photos taken of him by a family friend after 10 days allegedly showed that he had visible bruises on his chest, right arm, shoulder, thigh and ribs.
However, his body was cremated on Sunday, as the family feared police may come for other family members.
His mother, Ramyee Perumal, 56, said she had no proper access to her son when she visited him at the hospitals as he was always guarded by policemen.
"He was unconscious but there were times when he was conscious and called me. He is my only son," she said, unable to hold back her tears at a press conference together with Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy at his Prai service centre in Chai Leng Park.
"Whenever I visited my son, the policemen on duty would later ask what we talked about. I couldn't say much," she added, saying her son had bandages on his body.
Ramasamy (right) said that one of the doctors in the hospital said Murugan died due to severe beatings.
He demanded a thorough probe into the death and wants state police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi to answer the issue.
"This is terrible. Murugan may be an alcoholic, but he does not deserve this. What is his crime? Police need to probe and charge him properly.
"I don't expect the police to probe themselves. Are the police prepared to probe, arrest the culprits who caused his death?" Ramasamy asked.
He said there was no guarantee that detainees would come out of the police lock-up alive, adding that this seemed to be the scenario today.
So far this year, Penang has seen four other deaths in police custody - A Punniyatham, 40, on Feb 10 at the Nibong Tebal police station lock-up, Ramasamy Nagu, 50, on March 1 at the Bayan Baru police station lock-up, Kamarulnizam Ismail, 39, who died in Taiping Prison on March 8 after being detained at the Bandar Perda police lock-up, and Koay Soon Cguan, 41, who died at the Penang Prison on April 6.
The
father of three, who lives with his mother in Teluk Indah, Prai, was
arrested for suspected drug possession at his house at 1.30pm on March
31.The next day, he was sent to the Bukit Mertajam Hospital and was warded for five days before being sent to the Seberang Jaya Hospital.
Photos taken of him by a family friend after 10 days allegedly showed that he had visible bruises on his chest, right arm, shoulder, thigh and ribs.
However, his body was cremated on Sunday, as the family feared police may come for other family members.
His mother, Ramyee Perumal, 56, said she had no proper access to her son when she visited him at the hospitals as he was always guarded by policemen.
"He was unconscious but there were times when he was conscious and called me. He is my only son," she said, unable to hold back her tears at a press conference together with Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy at his Prai service centre in Chai Leng Park.
"Whenever I visited my son, the policemen on duty would later ask what we talked about. I couldn't say much," she added, saying her son had bandages on his body.
Ramasamy (right) said that one of the doctors in the hospital said Murugan died due to severe beatings.He demanded a thorough probe into the death and wants state police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi to answer the issue.
"This is terrible. Murugan may be an alcoholic, but he does not deserve this. What is his crime? Police need to probe and charge him properly.
"I don't expect the police to probe themselves. Are the police prepared to probe, arrest the culprits who caused his death?" Ramasamy asked.
He said there was no guarantee that detainees would come out of the police lock-up alive, adding that this seemed to be the scenario today.
So far this year, Penang has seen four other deaths in police custody - A Punniyatham, 40, on Feb 10 at the Nibong Tebal police station lock-up, Ramasamy Nagu, 50, on March 1 at the Bayan Baru police station lock-up, Kamarulnizam Ismail, 39, who died in Taiping Prison on March 8 after being detained at the Bandar Perda police lock-up, and Koay Soon Cguan, 41, who died at the Penang Prison on April 6.
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