An inquest into Sugumar's case possible

Home minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein has not ruled out an inquest into the death of C. Sugumar, 40, who was believed to have been mobbed by people last Wednesday.

Hishammuddin stressed that Kajang OCPD ACP Abdul Rashid Abdul Wahab did not have any jurisdiction whether the investigation will be carried out or not.

“It is not in his power to make such a statement as it involves higher authority.

“We will see the outcome of the investigation,” he said during a press conference today.

ACP Abdul Rashid had made a statement that police will carry out investigation on the death of Sugumar after the autopsy, which indicated the victim had died of a heart attack.

However, Hishammuddin refused to comment further if an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) will be carried out for this case.

Meanwhile the family of the victim refused to accept the post-mortem result stating Sugumar died of a heart attack. They are requesting a second post-mortem to be carried out.

“Sugumar had no health problems and was only 40 years old. It is unbelievable that a healthy man should suddenly collapse and die immediately upon arrest,” said lawyers N.Surendran in a joint press statement with Latheefa Koya.

They noted the deceased was still handcuffed, had some lacerations’ consistent with a struggle with police’, with turmeric powder on his face.

The post mortem last night had shown the deceased had no serious bruises on the body, aside from minor bruising on one knee and arms.

Police had also denied any instances of foul play leading to Sugumar’s death.

"A post-mortem revealed that he had a blockage in his heart (coronary artery disease). There were no other injuries,” ACP Abdul Rashid had reportedly said.

Police had also said the deceased had fell into a drain during the commotion, requiring policemen to rescue him. However an inquest for the case would be requested.

On Wednesday evening, Sugumar had apparently created a small ruckus, when he went amok in front of a shop in Taman Pekaka, Hulu Langat. Police said he had previously walked for about 2km from Dusun Nanding.

Witnesses claimed that a mob of more than 20 people assaulted him near his house at Batu 12.

They said that four policemen, two were in uniform had tackled , handcuffed and assaulted him together with the mob.

One of the policemen was claimed to have thrown turmeric powder on the deceased during the scuffle.

Sugumar died before police could transport him back to the station. He was found to be semi-nude.

On January 24, friends and family of Sugumar had gathered outside the Serdang Hospital demanding to see the body. Lawyers claimed the family was denied access to see the body for hours.

Meanwhile, Sugumar’s uncle, M. Jayaparathy,36, said although his nephew did have a history of mental illnesses, he was generally a gentle man.

“He may have looked fierce because of his big size but had a soft heart. He was actually very timid, so I don’t want this to be racial or political issue, we just want a fair judgement,” he said.