A team from the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) visited the Klang district police headquarters yesterday where a 32-year-old lorry driver was allegedly assaulted by nine other detainees in a lock-up, resulting in his death.

Heading the three-member team was commissioner Prof Hamdan Adnan, who was accompanied by investigations department head Nasir Hadi and officer Suraini Pasha.

The trio were briefed by corporal Arthi Moolan, who is in charge of the station's lock-ups, and the acting station head, chief inspector Awalludin Kasim.

When contacted today, Hamdan said that the two policemen posted outside the cells would not have been able to see the incident due to the cells' location.

However, he added that they would have definitely been able to hear the commotion.

"The cells are located on either side of a corridor, so the wardens outside can't really see into them, but they can hear what is going on inside," he explained.

Hamdan added that the corridor separating the cells was narrow, meaning that a policeman entering the area was within arm's reach of the detainees on either side.

"The bars (of the cell) are very close to the corridor, so the detainees could actually grab an officer from both sides if he was in the corridor," he said.

In view of this, the commissioner said policemen may feel intimidated to enter the area without backup so even if they heard a commotion, they would have to wait for assistance.

Withdrawal symptoms

He said police claimed that the victim, R Sundara Raju, was making a racket and disturbing other detainees on Nov 15, the day of the incident. This could have irritated the others, resulting in the attack.

According to the police, the deceased could have been suffering from withdrawal symptoms as he was an alcoholic.

Sundara Raju, who leaves behind a wife and an 18-month-old son, succumbed to his injuries at the nearby Tengku Ampuan Rahimah hospital three days later. He was in a coma throughout the three days in hospital.

However, Hamdan said the events surrounding the alleged assault were yet to be ascertained and he "does not know the actual situation" for now.

When contacted, the victim's widow, M Latha, refuted the claim that her husband was a heavy drinker.

However, the 27-year-old housewife admitted that Sundara Raju was drunk when he assaulted her on Nov 10, prompting her to lodge a police report which led to his arrest the next day.

Meanwhile, Hamdan said he was informed that the suspects involved in the incident are now under the custody of various police stations in the district.

When the commissioner inquired why the victim was held in the lock-up for five days, the police said he had persistently threatened to assault his wife.

'Inhumane' conditions

The commissioner also noted that the lock-ups in the district headquarters needed refurbishment and described the current condition as "inhumane". The cells, he added, were poorly-ventilated and overcrowded.

"(The officers there) told me that up to 80 people could be held in the lock-up. When we were there, there were only 18 detainees in the cells, but already they were cramped.

"If it was full, there would be no space for them to lie down," he said.

The Suhakam team were also briefed by pathologists Dr Ramesh Thangaratnam and Dr Nurliza Abdullah who conducted the first postmortem at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital.

Hamdan said he learned that the victim had suffered a blow to the head with "a blunt object" which could have been the fists of his assailants.

The commissioner added that, there were also signs which revealed that Sundara Raju's hands had been restrained during the incident.

The victim's family has alleged that police brutality and negligence caused his death.

A second postmortem was done at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre on Nov 19 after family members said the findings of the first were compromised by the presence of policemen from the Klang district headquarters during the procedure.

Klang police chief A Paramasivam and acting station head Awalludin could not be reached for comment.

WONG JOON IAN is an intern with malaysiakini .