Lawyers for the family of a youth who died in police custody said that the cause of death stated by the Putrajaya hospital differed with the findings of an independent postmortem.

"University Malaya Medical Centre pathologist Dr George Paul has confirmed with the family of the deceased that the cause of death of S Tharma Rajen is Tuberculosis (TB)," said Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia (Prim) pro tem deputy secretary-general RN Rajah in a statement today.

Rajah added that it was "not pneumonia as stated in the [Putrajaya hospital] postmortem report and the burial permit certificate of the deceased".

According to a lawyer for the family, P Uthayakumar, who is also Prim's pro tem secretary-general, the body of Tharma Rajen was sent to the UM medical centre on Sunday and the report received today.

He said the only mention of Tharma Rajen's cause of death in the report was found in the burial permit which stated that he died of pneumonia.

Although police have obtained the report, Uthayakumar said the family was still waiting for a copy from the hospital where the 20-year-old waiter from Kuala Lumpur died last Friday.

Lawyers for the Tharma Rajen's family had approached Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff yesterday to ask for a judicial review on Kajang Magistrate Azahaniz Teh's refusal to make the report available to the family.

'TB compounded condition'

When asked today, UM Medical Centre's Paul however said there was a possibility that Tharma Rajen's TB infection could have led to pneumonia.

"Yes, there is a possibility, but TB is a chronic inflammatory disease and that has created a scenario. TB compounded the issue and we cannot hide that fact," said Paul, who is also a lecturer.

He said postmortem reports must be done in a clear-cut and forthright manner but that might not be the case in some hospitals.

When asked if he had found any evidence of assault as alleged by family members of the deceased, Paul said he did not want to comment until the postmortem conducted by the Putrajaya hospital is released.

According to his postmortem report which Prim distributed at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today, Tharma Rajen's body showed signs of malnourishment.

Prim's Uthayakumar said, "His treatment during custody was cruel, degrading and inhuman. TB is a serious and contagious disease and it could have spread to all the detainees near Tharma Rajen. The detainees should all be screened together with all the police personnel."

His deputy Rajah also said that possible legal action would be taken against the police and hospital but did not give a specific date.

'No foul play'

Tharma Rajen was arrested in early April. He was transferred to four different police stations in almost two months under police custody before his death after admission to the Putrajaya hospital.

According to the police, Tharma was admitted to the Putrajaya hospital on June 9 and died there on June 21. The family claimed that they were only notified of Tharma's hospitalisation on June 16.

Last Friday, his family alleged that he had been badly beaten up and that proper medical care to him had been delayed.

A report in the Malay Mail said Tharma Rajen was arrested during Operation Copperhead, a nationwide crackdown on Indian Malaysian gangsters. He was alleged to have been involved in a gang fight at the Seri Sarawak flats in Jalan Kenanga, Kuala Lumpur.

Police said there was no foul play as alleged by the family members and lawyers.

The Malay Mail yesterday quoted Kuala Lumpur city police chief Syed Abdul Rahman Syed Abdul Kadir as saying that Tharma Rajen died from pneumonia while national news agency Bernama quoted his deputy Dell Akbar Khan as saying that the cause of death was acute lung infection.