The family of the 22-year-old youth who died in police custody has decided to postpone his burial in order to seek a second post-mortem.

The decision comes in the wake of Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar saying today that the post-mortem done at the Serdang Hospital found that Kugan Ananthan had died due to 'liquid in his lungs'.

kugan death protest 210109 mother (in red) This evening, Kugan's body was brought to the Hindu cemetery in Batu 14, Jalan Puchong.

However, after consulting lawyers, the family decided not to proceed with the burial and conduct an independent post-mortem.

The body has been taken to the University Malaya Medical Centre to determine if any foul play was involved in the case.

Kugan, who hails from Puchong, was arrested on Jan 15 in connection with several luxury car theft cases. He collapsed and died on Tuesday at the Taipan police station in Subang Jaya.

Decision made at cemetery

kugan funeral 220109 parents The dramatic turn of events took place just as Kugan's parents - G Anathan and S Indra ( photo left ) - arrived along with the hearse at the cemetery where he was to be buried.

Several lawyers who had gathered at the cemetery then informed Kugan's parents of Khalid's statement and said it was up to them to decide if a second post-mortem was needed.

Anathan and Indra immediately gave consent for a second post- mortem and the funeral was called off. Their decision won applause from some 300 people who had gathered at the cemetery.

kugan funeral 230109 family crying "The parents were unaware the post-mortem report stated that the cause of death was due to 'water in the lungs' and not assault. If not, they would have asked for a second post-mortem report earlier," said lawyer N Surendran.

"They are rather suspicious of foul play in the death of their son and are not confident with police investigations especially after Khalid's statement (on the cause of death)," he added.

Earlier, funeral rites were performed for the deceased at his family home in Kinrara Puchong. Kugan's family members were sobbing inconsolably throughout the funeral which was attended by about 200 people.

Samy Vellu's visit

By 3pm, the family members and supporters staged an impromptu procession to accompany the hearse to the cemetery which was about 10km away.

kugan funeral 220109 mourning Some 30 individuals - including Kapar MP S Manikavasagam and MIC Youth chief T Mohan - marched ahead of the hearse while family members and supporters followed in a convoy of cars and motorcycles.

The police only confronted the marchers once when the group had already arrived in Batu 14, Jalan Puchong near the cemetery. However, the police did not stop the group from marching.

About two dozen police in riot gear tailed the procession from a distance. No untoward incidents were reported.

kugan funeral 230109 samy vellu During the funeral earlier, three top MIC leaders led by president S Samy Vellu made a brief visit. His delegation included Human Resource Minister Dr S Subramaniam and Deputy Federal Territories Minister S Saravanan.

"This is cruelty. This cannot be accepted. (Kugan's death) is the (result of) act of an animal," said Samy Vellu.

He said that those responsible for Kugan's death should be charged in court for murder.

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