We want to bury Sugumar, family laments
Unless the government resolves the saga over C Sugumar's death within 48 hours, the aggrieved family of the death-in-custody victim will be forced to bury his body without justice done.
Unless the government resolves the saga over C Sugumar's death within 48 hours, the aggrieved family of the death-in-custody victim will be forced to bury his body without justice done.
According to family lawyer N Surendran (
left
), both Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) and Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) have denied the family a second post-mortem without a court order.
"There is no law that says a court order is required in order to conduct a second post-mortem.
"This raises questions about the government's sincerity in delivering justice to the family," Surendran told a press conference at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya today.
Lawyer Latheefa Koya said the sudden demand for a court order for the second post-mortem was in directly conflict with Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam's agreement to facilitate the post-mortem.
"Why do you need a court order when the police said they have no objection?" Latheefa asked.
Furious with the government's delaying tactics and interference, Sugumar's uncle, A Kuppusamy ( below, standing ), who was also present, lambasted it for breaking its promise to facilitate the examination.
"Is the government bloodthirsty? Let the Prime Minister (Najib Abdul Razak) take my blood if they do not allow me to bury my nephew without the second autopsy," Kuppusamy lamented.
"A Tamil poet said, 'the government of the day must give justice to the citizens' but this is not the case. "He (Sugumar) was chased, beaten, handcuffed and shot. I feel great pain as his uncle.
"We (the family) will hold the PM and the health minister completely responsible for this.
"The pain and sorrow we feel will rebound on the individuals accountable for his murder," Kuppusamy said.
‘Let Dr Pornthip in'
In a letter to minister Subramaniam dated June 6, the family urged Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to let their choice of Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojasunan into the county, or withdraw the demand for a court order and allow UMMC and HKL pathologists to carry out the second autopsy.
Attempts to bring in Pornthip (
left
)
are said to have been stymied by interference from both the Malaysian and Thai governments, which the family sees as denying them of her service.
"If the government fails to accede to the family's requests within the next 48 hours, the family will proceed to close the chapter and perform the funeral rites. Their waiting for justice is already suffering itself," said Surendran.
The body of 40-year-old Sugumar, allegedly beaten to death on Jan 23, has been in the Serdang Hospital morgue for 136 days now.
The late Sugumar's mother Manimegalai and cousin, Anantha Kannan, were also present at the press conference.
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