The family of the late Kamarulnizam Ismail has lodged a police report in Kepala Batas, on mainland Penang, upon finding bruises on parts of his body.

Kamarulnizam ( right ) died on March 8, at the Tapah prison in Perak.

His eldest brother, Kamaruzzaman Ismail, lodged the report, which was taken down by L/Kpl Norashikin Ismail at the Kepala Batas police station at 2.14pm on March 10.

Kamaruzzaman wants the police to investigate death of Kamarulnizam, 39, who worked with a sugar factory in Perai.

He said Kamarulnizam had been fit and healthy before he was taken into custody by the police at the Bandar Perda police station lock-up before being sent to the Tapah prison on March 6.

His father, a retired policeman, who used to send Kamarulnizam to work and take him back home, did not notice any problem with his son’s health all this while.

"What happened to my brother when he was held at the Bandar Perda police lock-up, before he was sent to Tapah? How long was he kept there?" Kamaruzzaman asked when met at his home in Seberang Jaya.

"I saw his body in the mortuary in Tapah. He had blue-black marks on his right cheek  and under his left arm," said Kamaruzzam, a driver with Kontena Nasional Bhd.

"They did not allow me to take photographs of his body or parts that showed the bruises, but I saw the marks with my own eyes," he lamented.

"The prison guard told me my brother died from chest infection, but as far as I know, he was a fit and healthy person before he was taken to the Bandar Perda police station lock-up," Kamaruzzaman insisted.

However, the officer at Tapah prison insisted that prison records would definitely include every detail of the prisoner - from head to toe - before they entered the prison, Kamaruzzaman said.

CID chief: I have to check

Asked about this, Penang Criminal Investigations Department chief SAC Mazlan Kesah would only say, "I have to check."

Kamarulnizam was arrested and taken to the court in Bukit Mertajam on March 3, for a crime even his family is uncertain of.

His family did not know which court charged or convicted Kamarulnizam, for they were not even aware of his arrest.

He had been rather mischievous since young and got himself in a lot of petty problems, Kamaruzzaman ( left ) said, but he remained kind to his family though he did not visit them often.

Kamarulnizam was fined RM800 or three weeks jail for failing to give his statement in court, his brother claimed.

"He called our mother on March 6, and told her of his situation, adding that we did not have to help him pay the RM800 fine. He said he would do prison time since it was only for three weeks and he did not want to burden us financially.

"He also informed my mother that he would be taken to the prison in Tapah," Kamaruzzaman explained.

Kamaruzzaman expressed regret that he did not help his brother by paying off the fine.

"We ended paying more than RM800 after what happened to Kamarulnizam. We should have just helped him pay the fine," he told Malaysiakini , sighing.

Kamaruzzaman said he was then alerted by the Tapah prison that his brother had died from "chest infection" on March 8.

When he visited the mortuary about 4pm the same day, he found the marks on his brother’s body and immediately demanded that a post-mortem to be done.

"There was only one doctor available to do post-mortem in Tapah and so we had to wait until 9.30am the next day," he said.

"After the post-mortem, the doctor told us that the blue-black marks were there probably because he had a fall," Kamaruzzaman said.

"But I am not satisfied at all with the answers given by everyone, and that is why I am lodging the report. We need to find out what really happened to my brother before he was sent to the Tapah prison," he added.