Bernama, Jan 21 2009 -- A man who was detained to help investigation into cases of car thefts died suddenly when he was being interrogated at the Taipan Police Station, Subang Jaya, near here today. “During interrogation, the man asked for a glass of water and upon drinking the water, he collapsed and lost consciousness. A doctor from a clinic nearby who was summoned to examine the man later confirmed that he had died,” he said.
Khalid disclosed this to reporters after receiving a mobile police station donated by the Selangor government, which was handed over by State Secretary Datuk Ramli Mahmud at the Shah Alam District Police Headquarters, here.
He said the 22-year-old man from Puchong was detained on Jan 15 on suspicion of being involved in robbing and stealing luxury cars such as the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord in Sungai Chua, Kajang near here.
The suspect’s remains had been sent to the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) for a post-mortem and the case had been classified as sudden death for the time being.
Khalid said family members of the suspect had informed police that he was suffering from asthma.
“We don’t want any party to speculate as cases of custodial deaths are a sensitive issue. The man had also given his cooperation throughout the interrogation.
“No matter what the case may be, I give my assurance that a thorough investigation will be carried out and we are waiting for the outcome of the post-mortem,” he said.
Earlier, Khalid received a van which had been refurbished to become a mobile police station costing RM140,000 contributed by the Selangor government which is equipped with a communication network connecting it to the Section 15 Police Station in Shah Alam to monitor the industrial areas in Section 22, Section 26 and Section 27, here.
Meanwhile, Ramli said he would propose that more mobile police stations be donated to the police to control crime especially in high-risk areas such as in Shah Alam and Petaling Jaya.
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Cops vow no cover-up in probe into detainee death (updated)
By LOURDES CHARLES
The Star, Jan 21 2009PETALING 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.
Last week, seven policemen pleaded not guilty in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court to injuring a car park attendant and a teenager at the Brickfields police station last year.
They were charged with voluntarily causing hurt to B. Prabakar, 28, and 18-year-old C. Solomon Raj, at a detective’s office to make them confess to a criminal intimidation case.
The offence allegedly took place between 10.15pm on Dec 23 and 3.30am on Dec 24.
It was reported that Prabakar lodged a report on Dec 30 alleging that he had been assaulted and scalded with hot water after he was arrested in Desa Sri Hartamas on Dec 23.
The seven policemen face up to seven years’ jail and a fine if convicted.
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.
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