The trial of three men charged with fabricating the death of wanted fugitive Michael Soosai opened at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today with one accused telling the court that he was abused by police during the course of investigations.

Lawyer for petty trader J Kumaresan said his client was assaulted yesterday by personnel at police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur while under remand.

Kumaresan had claimed that he was beaten numerous times by the police since he was arrested two weeks ago.

When told by judge Rosenani Abdul Rahman to lodge a police report regarding his client's assault, lawyer P Uthayakumar told the court that he was raising the matter to put the accused's statement of the alleged assault on record.

"We had lodged similar complaint to the magistrate during the remand proceeding and the magistrate had directed the police not to assault our client. But the police had ignored the direction and assaulted our client. This amounts to contempt of court," said Uthayakumar.

He also urged the court to conduct an inquiry into the allegation. Rosenani, however, told counsel that she would not record the complaint.

"I will not hear this (complaint) because I have nothing before me. I am just hearing these things (allegations) from you. I will only look at the charges presented against the accused in court today," she said Rosenani.

She then again advised the defence lawyer to pursue the matter by filing a police report.

Kumaresan, 23, and co-accused K Subramaniam, 28, and V Sanjeev Kumar, 29, were arrested late last month in connection with the purported death of Soosai following police suspicions that the latter may still be alive although reported dead on Sept 12, 2003.

The trio have claimed trial to all four charges - one of cheating, and the other three involving forgery.

Still at large

On the first charge, Kumaresan, and Sanjeev, a management company employee, are alleged to have abetted Subramaniam and another person still at large to cheat Dr Wan Mohamad Zamri Wan Nawawi of the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital (HKL) into issuing a death certificate for Soosai.

They were also alleged to have abetted Subramaniam, a medical worker with the Ipoh Hospital and formerly attached to the HKL, and another person still at large to falsify documents relating to Soosai's registration of death, burial permit and death certificate for fraudulent purposes.

They were said to have committed the offences on Sept 12, 2003 at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital morgue.

If found guilty, the trio face jail sentences of between five and seven years for each charge and are also liable to a fine.

The court set bail at RM40,000 for each accused and ordered them to surrender their passports to the court as part of the bail condition.

They are also required to report themselves to the nearest police station weekly. The trial will begin on June 12

Forging cheques

Police began investigations into Soosai's purported death began in 2003 when it was reported that he could still be alive and was possibly involved in the murder of a Malaysian, N Subramaniam, in India.

Proof of Soosai's death was tendered at the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court on Nov 23, 2003 by his counsel who said he died of a heart attack at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital on Sept 12, 2003.

Soosai, a businessman, was at that time facing 13 charges of forging cheques by altering their account and serial numbers. The court dismissed all charges and acquitted him when informed of the death.