INTERVIEW N Dhamendran had willingly lodged a police report at the Pudu police station over his involvement in a fight as he felt he had nothing to fear, his wife S Marry told Malaysiakini in an interview today.

Dhamendran had run into trouble on May 11, when confronted by a long-time rival at a nearby barber shop, who had brought thugs along and a fight occurred, in which Dhamendran was beaten up.

"I am not guilty, so what should I fear?" Marry said her late husband told her over the phone when he went to make a report with the police that same day.

However, after he made his report, Dhamendran was remanded at the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters.

He was found dead there on May 22, badly bruised and with metal staples attached to his body.

NONE The 31-year-old's death in police custody was the sixth this year. The family's lawyer, N Surendran, said it was the worst case he had seen since the death of A Kugan in 2009.

Since Dhamendran's arrest on May 11, Marry ( left ) was not allowed to visit him and not told of her husband's whereabouts until May 19.

Marry was only informed of his arrest by a police officer in the D9 (serious crime branch) of the KL police headquarters, who allegedly told her to bring along five packets of chicken rice, five cans of 100 Plus and three packets of cigarettes before she was allowed to see her husband.

NONE Upon complying with the demand for food and cigarettes, Marry was allowed to speak to Dhamendran, but she noticed that he was "acting strange".

"I asked him if the police had hurt him, and for how long until he is released (on bail), but he just sat there quietly, glancing at the police officer on duty, as if he felt threatened.

"It was so unlike him. He usually loves to talk."

The sole breadwinner of the family, Dhamendran worked as a driver with sewerage company Indah Water. He and Marry have a two-year-old son.

When Marry asked him when he would resume work, the officer on duty, who sat in front of a computer, interrupted her and offered to settle the paperwork for his absence from work.

NONE "He (the officer) was being very pushy about it. He said he would help fill out the forms for Dhamendran's absence from work while my husband assisted the police in their investigation," Marry said.

"The officer then asked me to go home."

Kuala Lumpur CID chief Ku Chin Wah ( left ) said earlier that Dhamendran died from breathing difficulties.

However, Marry said her husband did have asthma, but it was only a minor condition.

"The pathologist (Dr Siew Sheue Feng) said he had not suffered from cardiac arrest, nor did he have asthma then," she added.

‘Loving husband and son'

Marry told Malaysiakini that Dhamendran was a very loving husband, who would go to great lengths to pamper her, and who loved helping people.

"You'd never find a man like that anywhere. He would visit charity homes on his birthday every year and donate small amounts of money," Marry said.

Dhamendran was also a filial son, said his father B Narayanasamy who was also present at the interview.

He recounted how attached his son was to him and his mother.

"He would give RM300 to us every month, and call us every week, no matter how busy he was," Narayanasamy said as he wiped tears from his eyes.

pkr dharmendran dang wangi police 260513 surendran The family is still waiting for the authorities to take action on the police officers responsible for Dhamendran's death, despite a post-mortem report confirming that he had died from "diffuse soft tissue injuries due to multiple blunt force traumas".

This, the family's lawyer's N Surendran ( right ) claimed, proved that Dhamendran had been beaten and horribly tortured to death while in custody.