The government and the police have filed an appeal on the general damages of RM200,000 awarded to the family of lorry driver P Chandran, who died while in detention at the Dang Wangi police station more than four years ago.

In all, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur awarded RM357,000 in total damages.

However, the government has admitted liability in not appealing against the other damages awarded by the High Court, comprising special damages of RM3,500, RM10,000 for bereavement and RM144,000 for loss of dependency.

The family's lawyer M Visvanathan confirmed when contacted by Malaysiakini that the appeal has been filed.

“We received a letter dated Jan 20, confirming the appeal against the general damages awarded,” Visvanathan said.

As with the case of the other death in custody case involving A Kugan, the Federal Court has also granted leave on the question of general damages awarded.

The main argument is that a deceased person is not entitled to exemplary damages as it is for those who are still living.

On Jan 9 last year, High Court judge S Nantha Balan ruled that the police and government had acted negligently in not sending Chandran to the hospital and had breached their duty to take care of him.

"In my view, if the police and the officers on patrol duty and those monitoring the CCTV at IPD Dang Wangi had done their job, they would have observed that there was something not right with the deceased, especially on the early morning of Sept 10, 2012.

"They should have taken steps to intervene and send the deceased to the hospital, but it appears that everyone who had a duty to look after the detainees, as per the Lock-Up Rules 1953, had abdicated their responsibilities and washed their hands off the matter," Justice Nantha Balan ruled.

Chandran died at the age of 47, from hypertensive heart disease as a result of the police not giving or allowing him to take medicine related to his health.

The inquest into his death conducted by the KL Sessions Court found that the police only noticed Chandran’s death 12 hours after he died in the Dang Wangi station lock-up.

Chandran had been arrested by police for suspected abduction of an Indonesian baby that was originally given up for adoption to his Muslim brother-in-law.