'Custody death victim's hand was clinging to cell bar'

Death in policy custody victim Cheah Chin Lee was found holding on to a cell bar although he had reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a cell at the Tanjong Tokong police station, the inquest into his death heard today.

The lawyer conducting a watching brief for Cheah’s family, M Visvanathan, said photos taken by the police after Cheah’s death showed his left hand clinging on to a bar.

“There are two possibilities. One, someone forced him up and he held on to the bar, grasping for dear life, or he went up there, did the act on his own, with no assistance from anyone,” said Visvanathan while cross-examining forensic expert Bhupinder Singh.

“If he did it on his own and wanted (to commit) suicide, why would he still cling on to the bar? It’s not a very good suicide attempt then,” said Visvanathan.

Visvanathan said the photos depicting him in the position “tell a thousand stories” and it appeared as if Cheah was trying to break his fall.

However, Visvanathan complained that all the photos taken of Cheah by the police were not good at all as they do not show the bruises clearly.

Visvanathan then asked Bhupinder (left) to state his opinion on the findings in the photograph of Cheah hanging from a bar.

In response, Bhupinder said he did not agree to the suggestion that Cheah could have been put up on the bar.

He then asked, “Where is the CCTV recording of the incident?” to which Visvanathan thanked him for asking, saying he would get it and inform Bhupinder.

Bhupinder said Cheah was hanging from the bars with his feet off the ground by a distance of two feet and his left hand firmly gripping the bar.

He was hanging with his cell clothes in a loop around his neck.

“It is not possible to put someone of his size up there without a struggle and without sustaining any injuries,” said Bhupinder.

‘Not for us in forensics to decide’

Bhupinder said he could only ascertain the deceased’s death was caused by asphysxia due to hanging, but could not decide on the circumstances of how he died.

“It is not for us (in forensics) to decide whether it is suicide or homicide,” he said.

Coroner Umadevi Loganathan presided over the inquest, which was held since yesterday, while the conducting officers are Mohd Faisal Md Noor and Edward Chan.

Cheah, 36, was found dead in the cell at about 5.30am on Aug 13, after he was arrested for suspected motorcycle theft at about 12.30am.

An autopsy report indicated that he died of asphyxia due to hanging but his family members, who were in court, refused to accept that Cheah had died due to suicide.