The investigation into the death of A Kugan while in police custody should be reopened as more than one police officer must have been involved, said Kugan's family today.

"We know more than one member of the police was involved in the case, as 11 were suspended (following the incident)," said the family's lawyer N Surendran, at a press conference at PKR's headquarters in Petaling Jaya this morning, reading out the family's four demands.

NONE Speaking on behalf of Kugan's mother N Indra ( left ), he condemned the light three-year sentence handed down to police constable V Navindran, saying that he should have at least been charged with causing grievous hurt and given the maximum sentence of 10 years jail.

Throughout the press conference, Indra fought back tears and was too emotional to speak to the media.

 Severely beaten up

Yesterday, the Shah Alam Sessions Court found Navindran guilty on two counts of causing hurt, but ordered the two three-year prison sentences to run concurrently.

Kugan, 23, died while in police custody after allegedly being severely beaten up in the interrogation room of the Taipan police station in USJ-Subang Jaya at 7am on Jan 16, 2009.

Kugan's aunt S Renuga briefly addressed the media after Surendran failed to convince Indra to speak, describing how after a wait of three and a half years, the verdict had not brought any closure to them.

Her voice cracked slightly as she demanded an apology from the police and government, lamenting how nobody from the government had bothered to pay them a visit throughout the entire ordeal.

NONE The family laid out four demands: for the government and police to apologise to Kugan's family; for them to retract various statements casting Kugan as a criminal when he was never found guilty of any crime in court; for the investigation into his death to be reopened; and for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to be set up to conduct an independent investigation into the whole matter.

Surendran raised his voice when demanding the reopening of the investigation, saying not only was the verdict too light, but too few people were brought to justice over the incident.

"Didn't Kugan die? Wasn't he tortured to death?" he asked, also questioning whether the use of torture in interrogating suspects was a sanctioned directive within the police force.

'Disaster of a verdict'

Even if Navindran was not charged with murder, he should at least have been charged with causing grievous hurt under Section 331 of the Penal Code and be given the maximum sentence of 10 years, he said.

Yet he was only charged with causing hurt, while 10 of his colleagues were only suspended and not charged, he said.

"The family holds the attorney-general personally responsible for the disaster of a verdict yesterday because he personally dilly-dallied for nine months only to not charge the officer with murder," he thundered, adding that the family had also never been contacted by the AG's office with regards to the case.

a kugan murdered assaulted indian youth He stressed that the accusations levelled against Kugan ( left ), calling him a criminal and a car thief, had caused pain to the family when the police should instead have been apologising for his death.

He also spoke harshly against what he termed a "cover up" of the circumstances surrounding Kugan's death.

"The verdict yesterday was the result of three and a half years of systematic, deliberate and concerted cover up by the police, the government and the AG's Chambers," he said, citing the delay in prosecuting Navindran and the two conflicting medical reports on Kugan's cause of death.

VIDEO l  11.31 mins

Kugan verdict opens more cans of worms