A policeman stationed to guard detainee A Kugan, today admitted that he made a mistake by not recording Constable V Navindran's beating of Kugan, in the station's daily log.

"I didn't record the matter (Navindran beating Kugan) in the daily log because I asked Kugan about his condition and he said he was fine.

"But I didn't expect this (Kugan's death) would happen. My mistake I didn't record it," Lance Corp Mohd Haizan Hamid, 29, told the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.

During re-examination by Senior Federal Counsel Azizan Md Arshad, he said that when he saw Kugan, there were no visible bruises except on his wrists, due to the handcuffs.

NONE Mohd Haizan, who was testifying at the hearing of the negligence suit filed by Kugan's mother N Indra ( left ), added that he did not inform his superiors of the matter until he was called as a witness.

According to the witness statement, Mohd Haizan said, "I thought Navindran was taking over from my shift. When we heard Kugan screaming, Constable K James and I rushed into the interrogation room to see what was happening."

He said, Kugan had been beaten with something but was not injured and he repeatedly said he was fine and did not need treatment.

"We (Mohd Haizan and James) allowed Kugan to lie down on the mattress and handcuffed his right hand to the chair. We stayed in the room until our replacement arrived," he said.

 Never charged

Apart from Navindran, no one else entered the room and he was never charged with conspiring with Navindran, said Mohd Haizan.

During cross-examination Mohd Haizan denied the suggestion by plaintiff's lawyer R.L Bani Prakash that the records in the daily log were not true.

On Jan 13 this year, Indra, 44 as the administrator of Kugan's estate, filed a suit and named Khalid (the then Selangor police chief),

Navindran, ACP Zainal Rashid, the inspector-general of police and the government as defendants.

In her statement of claim, Indra alleged that all the defendants failed to ensure the safety, health and welfare of her son while in police custody. Kugan was 23 years old at the time.

On June 11 last year, the Shah Alam Sessions Court sentencedNavindran to three years jail for causing hurt to car theft suspect Kugan, at the Taipan police station on Jan 16, 2009.

The proceedings before Judge Datuk V.T Singham resumes on Feb 28 for case management after the defendants close their case.

- Bernama