Police blasted for covering up 'turmeric murder' case...

Arrest and suspend cops in handcuff death, lawyers demand...

C. Sugumaran’s death must be classified as murder, lawyers for the security guard demanded today, rejecting the Kajang police and Serdang Hospital’s claim that the 39-year-old had died of a heart attack.

N. Surendren and Latheefa Koya, both PKR lawyers, also called for all police officers allegedly involved in beating the man on Saturday to be arrested and suspended pending investigations and a second post-mortem.

“We also call upon the IGP (Inspector-General of Police) to allow and facilitate the carrying out of a second post-mortem on Sugumaran’s remains.

“Until the second post-mortem is carried out satisfactorily, the family will not claim the body,” the duo said in a statement here.

Kajang police had yesterday denied assaulting the security guard to death despite eyewitness claims that the man had been handcuffed, beaten and his face covered in turmeric powder by a mob of more than 20 near his house in Batu 12, Hulu Langat.

Kajang OCPD Asst Comm Abdul Rashid Abdul Wahab told a press conference last night that Serdang Hospital, after its first post-mortem on Sugumaran, had discovered that the man had died of a heart attack.

In the police version of the incident, the Batu 14 Hulu Langat police station had received a call at about 6.30pm on Saturday from a man that Sugumaran was running amok and was destroying public property.

Abdul Rashid said three policemen in a patrol car and a motorcycle tailed Sugumaran, who was on foot, for about 2km from Dusun Sri Nanding to Taman Lagenda Suria in Hulu Langat as the latter waved an iron rod, destroying flower vases near houses and electrical wires, until he fell down in the middle of the road.

“The police, assisted by members of the public, held and handcuffed the man as he was still acting aggressively and trying to struggle during arrest,” said Abdul Rashid, stressing that the crowd of 10 did not assault Sugumaran.

Surendren (second from left) at the Serdang Hospital on January 24, 2013. He said the police should not rule out assault and foul play in Sugumaran’s death.

He added that a police officer then went to get a Land Rover to take Sugumaran, described as a big-sized man, to the police station.

“But upon return, the Indian man was unconscious. The police then contacted the hospital and a medical officer came and pronounced him dead,” said Abdul Rashid.

He stressed that a post-mortem done by pathologist Dr Mohd Azaini Ibrahim from Serdang Hospital from 3.30pm to 8.30pm yesterday revealed that Sugumaran had died of a heart attack.

“No other injuries could have caused his death,” said Abdul Rashid.
But Surendren and Latheefa rejected this version of the story, insisting that without the police having recorded statements from three eyewitnesses, they could not so quickly rule out assault and foul play.

“This statement is a blatant attempt by police to cover-up the case, with the connivance of the Serdang Hospital,” they said.

They added that it was “incredible” to conclude that Sugumaran had died of a heart attack when the man was merely 39 and had no health problems.

They said that when they were finally allowed to view his body, Sugumaran was still handcuffed and his face still covered in turmeric powder, and lacerations consistent with his struggle with the police could be seen.

“The police attempt to exonerate themselves by issuing false statements is thus a serious perversion of the course of justice,” they said.

Furthermore, the two lawyers pointed out that this was not the first time Serdang Hospital had allegedly conspired with the police to rule out murder.

“It should be noted that the Serdang Hospital has a history of falsifying post-mortem findings in favour of the police authorities.

“In the A. Kugan case, Serdang Hospital falsely claimed that Kugan died of water in the lungs when in fact he had been beaten to death in police custody.

“The Serdang pathologist, Prof Dr Abdul Karim Tajuddin, was subsequently found guilty by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) of professional misconduct for falsifying Kugan’s post-mortem findings,” they said.

According to Surendren and Latheefa, the hospital had yesterday again breached medical ethics by refusing Sugumaran’s family to see the body until they were persuaded to do so by lawyers and activists, four hours later.

Eyewitnesses had told reporters on Sunday that the security guard was chased down on Saturday by four policemen who subsequently handcuffed and beat him to death together with a mob of more than 20 people in Hulu Langat.

They said that after the policemen caught and handcuffed him, more than 20 other men from a nearby restaurant joined the policemen and proceeded to assault him.

“The police stepped on Sugumaran’s neck,” R. Moohanarajan told The Malaysian Insider at the Serdang Hospital on Sunday.

“Twenty to 30 people wearing plain clothes beat him up. He was lying face down with his hands handcuffed behind,” added Moohanarajan, who was Sugumaran’s neighbour.-malaysian insider

 Peguam dakwa polis cuba tutup kes pembunuhan Sugumar berlumur serbuk kunyit...

Pihak polis telah dituduh cuba menutup kes kematian pengawal keselamatan Sugumar Chelliah, yang didakwa digari, berlumur dengan serbuk kunyit dan dipukul oleh empat anggota polis.

"Kami merujuk kepada dakwaan ketua polis Kajang bahawa polis tidak memukul C Sugumar hingga mti dan dia meninggal dunia akibat serangan jantung," kata peguam N Surendran dan Latheefa Koya, yang mewakili keluarga mangsa, dalam satu kenyataan pagi ini.

Mereka mendakwa kenyataan itu sebagai cubaan terang-terangan oleh polis untuk menutup kes itu.

Menurut peguam berkenaan, saksi-saksi mendakwa melihat kejadian itu, tetapi polis tidak mengambil kenyataan mereka.

"Tiga saksi telah tampil memberi keterangan bahawa Sugumar telah dikejar oleh polis, digari, dipukul dan berlumur dengan kunyit.

"Bagaimana polis boleh mendakwa bahawa tidak ada unsur janayah, sedangkan mereka tidak telahpun merekodkan kenyataan ketiga-tiga saksi berkenaan?"

Semalam polis mengklasifikasikan kes Sugumar sebagai 'kematian mengejut' dan bedah siasat menunjukkan dia mengalami saluran jantung tersumbat dan tiada sebarang kecederaan lain.

Peguam berkenaan bagaimanapun bertegas bahawa mereka telah meneliti luka pada si mati "konsisten dengan berlakunya pergelutan".-malaysiakini

 

Police deny beating man, say he died of heart attack...

The police have denied beating a security guard yesterday to death, pointing out that a post-mortem today revealed that he had died of a heart attack.

Three eyewitnesses alleged earlier today that four policemen had handcuffed and then assaulted 39-year-old C. Sugumaran together with a mob of more than 20 yesterday evening near the latter’s house at Batu 12, Hulu Langat.

“At about 6.30pm yesterday, the police station at Batu 14 Hulu Langat received a call from a Malay man saying that an Indian man was going amok and destroying public property,” Kajang OCPD ACP Abdul Rashid Abdul Wahab told a press conference at the Kajang district police headquarters here tonight.

He added that three policemen in a patrol car and a motorbike tailed Sugumaran, who was on foot, for about two kilometres from Dusun Sri Nanding to Taman Lagenda Suria in Hulu Langat as the latter waved an iron rod, destroying flower vases near houses and electrical wires, until he fell down in the middle of the road.

“The police, assisted by members of the public, held and handcuffed the man as he was still acting aggressively and trying to struggle during arrest,” said Abdul Rashid, stressing that the crowd did not assault Sugumaran.

Sugumaran’s neighbours who claim they saw four policemen and a mob of 20 to 30 people beating him up. From left: R. Moohanarajan, S. Sugunan, R. Vasandh.

He added that a police officer then went to get a Land Rover to bring Sugumaran, described as a big-sized man, to the police station.

“But upon return, the Indian man was unconscious. The police then contacted the hospital and a medical officer came and pronounced him dead,” said Abdul Rashid.

The policeman stressed that a post-mortem done by pathologist Dr Mohd Azaini Ibrahim from Serdang Hospital today from 3.30pm to 8.30pm revealed that Sugumaran had died of a heart attack.

“No other injuries could have caused his death,” said Abdul Rashid.

He also said that the policemen did not throw turmeric powder in Sugumaran’s face as alleged by eyewitnesses earlier today.

Eyewitnesses had told reporters earlier today that the security guard was chased down yesterday by four policemen who subsequently handcuffed and beat him to death together with a mob of more than 20 people in Hulu Langat yesterday.

They said that after the policemen caught and handcuffed him, more than 20 other men from a nearby restaurant joined the policemen and proceeded to assault him.

“The police stepped on Sugumaran’s neck,” R. Moohanarajan told The Malaysian Insider at the Serdang Hospital here today.

“Twenty to thirty people wearing plain clothes beat him up. He was lying facedown with his hands handcuffed behind,” added Moohanarajan, who was Sugumaran’s neighbour.-malaysian insider



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