Sugumar’s family refuses to give up

The family of Sugumar insists on a second post-mortem and will fight till the end for justice.

PETALING JAYA: The family of C Sugumar, the 40-year-old security guard who died in police custody almost 50 days ago, refuses to give up and is still waiting for the second post-mortem to be conducted.

Sugumar was allegedly chased, handcuffed and beaten to death on Jan 23 by policemen and several members of the public, after which turmeric powder was smeared on his face.

The first post-mortem from Selayang General Hospital showed that Sugumar had died due to a heart attack.

The family’s lawyer, N Surendran, also PKR vice-president, claims that the family insists on fighting till the end to obtain justice for the deceased.

“They don’t want to bury the body until the second post-mortem is conducted; they are willing to fight till the very end for justice,” said Surendran.

He said that till today, there is no response from the government or the Prime Minister’s Department.

“We are trying to pursue the matter with the Prime Minister’s Department; only Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak can resolve this issue,” he said.

“Thai forensic expert Porntip Rojanasunan’s ban has not been lifted; the family has been waiting for far too long and something has to be done as soon as possible,” he added.

When asked if Sugumar’s case will fade with another death in custody yesterday, Surendran said, “Definitely not; in fact, I think there will be more attention drawn to this case now.”

He also said that there is no other way the hospital or the government can dispose of the body as it does not have the legal rights to do so.

“The body of Sugumar will be left at the morgue until the second post-mortem is allowed and the ban on Porntip is lifted; nobody has the legal right to dispose of the body other than the family,” said Surendran.