A police inspector today claimed trial to a charge of voluntarily causing hurt to extort a confession from custodial death victim Balamurugan Suppiah.

Mohaneswaran Thiagarajah was charged under Section 330 of the Penal Code at the Klang Magistrate's Court for committing the offence at the Bandar Baru Klang police station between 7pm and 9.13pm on Feb 6.

If convicted, Mohaneswaran is liable to a prison term of up to seven years and a fine.

Magistrate Rozianti Mohamed Hanaphi fixed Nov 16 for the mention of the case and set the bail at RM1,200, with one surety.

The case is being prosecuted by the deputy public prosecutor Saraswati Ganesan, while Mohaneswaran is represented by Rajehgopal Vellu.

The lawyer for Balamurugan's family, Eric Paulsen, was also present in court.

Previously, at a hearing by the Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission (EAIC) on Balamurugan's death, several detainees who were with Balamurugan at the police station on Feb 6 claimed that Mohaneswaran had beaten them, including Balamurugan.   

One witness, Tamilasan Karapiah, also claimed that Mohaneswaran, while beating Balamurugan, had bragged about being the police station's "head gangster".

When called to appear before the EAIC hearing on June 7, Mohaneswaran dismissed these allegations as untrue.

Two pathologists who testified at the EAIC hearing said Balamurugan had died of blunt force trauma, which aggravated his heart problems.