There is nothing in the Inspector General’s Standing Orders (IGSO) that sanctions putting two handcuffs on a suspect, a coroner’s inquest into the death of security guard C Sugumar supposedly was told yesterday.

 

In addition, to a question by the coroner Rozi Zainon, investigating officer (IO) ASP Sofian Abu Bakar testified that in his experience, no suspect had broken out of a single pair of handcuffs before.

 

“So it quite shocking, how they (the police) could decide to put two handcuffs on him (Sugumar). They just kept saying that he was aggressive,” said Eric Paulsen yesterday, when contacted just after the day’s hearing at the Shah Alam Coroner’s Court.

He said Sofian had also confirmed during the hearing that no member of the police force was disciplined following Sugumar's death.

 

Sugumar died in Kajang at the spot where he was arrested on Jan 23, 2013. After a confrontation with the police, he was found dead half-naked with a yellow powder smeared on his face, and wearing two pairs of handcuffs.

 

Sofian, who led the police investigation on his death, was the last witness to testify in the inquest, while Paulsen was holding a watching brief on behalf of Sugumar’s family. The inquest was also assisted by deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Noor Husnita Mohd Radzi.

 

Previously in a July hearing, Batu 14 police station chief Ahmad Lotfi Abd Rahman had told the inquest that he gave the order to put two handcuffs on Sugumar.

Although not a standard practice, he said this was used to deal with large and aggressive suspects.

 

IGSO not produced despite coroner’s order

 

Meanwhile, Paulsen accused the police of being uncooperative to the inquest and exaggerating Sugumar’s condition prior to his arrest.

 

He said Sofian failed to produce a copy of the IGSO despite an order from the previous coroner hearing the case, Azahari Abdul Hamid, to do so.

 

He quoted the DPP saying that the police told her that the IGSO was an internal document, and an application for the document would need to be submitted to the police headquarters in Bukit Aman.

 

However, he said the coroner did not pursue the matter, and instead allowed Paulsen to question Sofian based on a copy of the IGSO that he obtained through the court in a separate death-in-custody case where a tow truck driver had died during a police shootout with suspected gangsters.

He said Sofian refused to confirm the copy that Paulsen had was authentic, but when its contents were put to him one-by-one, Sofian replied to each item that was same as his own copy of the IGSO, based on his recollection.

 

Paulsen ( left ) also slammed Sofian for dithering in his testimony about a metal rod that Sugumar was supposedly brandishing at bystanders as he ran amok. This was despite it not being mentioned in the forensic report.

 

“They (the police) were trying to create the impression that Sugumar was a very dangerous man and he could kill a policeman or a member of the public. But it is clear in the forensic report that was tendered in court that no metal rod was found.

 

“Then the IO said the metal rod had been found at another place, but actually the forensic report was quite complete because it had various maps that cover a large area, and the metal rod was not found anywhere.

 

“Then he (Sofian) changed his remark that he was informed about the metal rod, but he didn’t remember where it was found,” said Paulsen, adding that this was despite Sofian earlier testifying that he had found the metal rod.

 

Coroner Rozi has fixed March 6 next year to give her verdict on the cause of Sugumar’s death.