Penang police will assist the Perak police if there are investigations into the death of factory worker Kamarulnizam Ismail, said state Criminal Investigation Department chief SAC Mazlan Kesah today.

Mazlan said according to the standard operating procedure, Perak police will investigate the matter because Kamarulnizam ( right ) died in Tapah.

“Penang police received the report on the matter from his brother. We will provide assistance if Perak seeks help,” Mazlan said via a text message.

He was referring to the case of Kamarulnizam, 39, from Butterworth, who died in Tapah prison on March 8, allegedly due to a “chest infection”.

The deceased’s brother, Kamaruzzaman Ismail, who lives in Seberang Jaya, had lodged a police report in Kepala Batas on March 10, claiming that he found bruises on his sibling when he visited the body at the Tapah mortuary on March 8, at 7.25am.

Kamaruzzaman ( left ) has questioned whether the bruises - blue-black marks - which were visible on his brother’s right cheek and under his left arm - were sustained while he was in the Bandar Perda police lock-up.

Kamarulnizam went to the lock-up on March 3, after he was fined RM800 or three weeks jail for not giving his statement in court.

He opted to serve the three weeks sentence.

His family was not certain why Kamarulnizam was arrested but only got to know that he was serving the sentence and had been transferred to the Tapah prison on March 6.

Meanwhile, Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim said there is no other way but to form the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) which is long overdue due to the repeated occurrences of death in custody.

“Among the first duties of the IPCMC is to immediately launch an investigation on cases of death in custody, analysing statistics and past cases,” he said in a statement.

“I see that there is no other way forward, and there is no other way to clear the police’s name except through the setting up of IPCMC as proposed by the 2005 Dzaiddin royal commission report,” he added.

“The people need to regain confidence that the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) is truly independent and professional,” he stressed.

Kamarulnizam is the fourth victim of death in custody this year, after Ramasamy Nagu was found dead while in custody in the centralised lock-up in Bayan Baru on March 1.

On Feb 10, A Punniyanathan was found dead at the Nibong Tebal police station and on Feb 18, J Kulanthangam was found dead at the Dang Wangi police station.