Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today walked away when asked about a report that police beat to death a detainee last year.

The Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission (EAIC) last week found that 13 police personnel beat to death Syed Mohd Azlan Mohamed Nur in a police lock-up in Pengerang, Johor, on No 3, 2014.

“ Tak apa. Tak apa (never mind),” Zahid responded curtly to reporters after chairing a High-level Committee Meeting on National Flood Disaster and Haze Management in Kuala Lumpur.

He also brushed off the question when asked again as he go into his car: “That's another matter, ask about it some other time."

Zahid in 2013 promised the government would build centralised lock-ups equipped with CCTVs to stop deaths in custody.

Blunt force trauma caused death

Syed Mohd Azlan was detained on Nov 3 last year and taken to the Sungai Rengit police station in Pengerang, but was declared dead five hours after the arrest.

A post-mortem showed that he had died from blunt force trauma to the chest, with a total of 61 injuries on his body.

The EAIC inquiry found police physically attacked the deceased and tampered with evidence after his death.

EAIC found police cleaned the scene, disposed of a rubber mat and carpet stained with Syed Mohd Azlan's blood and hid witnesses to the incident.

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar said yesterday that police are in the midst of concluding investigations into Syed Mohd Azlan's death in custody.