The police and the government are contesting the issue of exemplary damages awarded to the family of custodial death victim P Chandran.

The lawyer for Chandran's family, M Visvanathan, told Malaysiakini that the appellants - five policemen, the inspector-general of police and the government - have, in a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal, questioned the quantum of exemplary damages awarded.

Yesterday, the Federal Court fixed Sept 12 to hear the application from the appellants, who were ordered to pay RM375,000 to the family of the late lorry driver. The date was fixed when the case management came up before registrar Jumirah Marjuki.

The High Court in Kuala Lumpur and the Court of Appeal had previously granted exemplary damages of RM200,000 to Chandran's family.

According to Visvanathan (photo), the Attorney-General's Chambers, representing the appellants, said the award is wrong in principle, that the family is not entitled to it as exemplary damages are awarded to those who are still alive.

This issue was not ventilated in the Court of Appeal, when the bench, led by Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, said the issue is on the quantum awarded for exemplary damages as stated in their notice of appeal, and not the exemplary damages.

Visvanathan said the appellants are continuing to appeal on the issue of exemplary damages whereas in the notice of appeal in the Court of Appeal, only the issue of the quantum of damages awarded is raised.

Chandran, 47, died at the Dang Wangi police station lock-up about 7.48am on Sept 10, 2012, but the police only noticed his death and reported it 12 hours later.

A landmark ruling

In a landmark ruling in January 2015, a Sessions Court judge, who sat as a coroner in the inquiry into the case, ruled that police had acted negligently in not sending the lorry driver to the hospital and not allowing him to be given medicine for his heart condition.

That was the first time that a Sessions Court judge had sat as a coroner, as previously, inquests have been chaired by magistrates.

A suit was subsequently filed and the High Court judge S Nanthabalan ruled last year that Chandran had died needlessly and his death could have been averted, had the police performed their duties and responsibilities.

Justice Nanthabalan also ruled that the police and the government had acted negligently in not sending the lorry driver to hospital.

"In my view, if the police and the officers on patrol duty and those monitoring the CCTV at IPD Dang Wangi had done their jobs, 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 Nanthabalan said.

Following that, the matter went for appeal at the Court of Appeal, where the bench led by Tengku Maimun upheld the award of RM357,000 that comprises RM200,000 in exemplary damages, special damages of RM3,500, RM10,000 for bereavement and RM144,000 for loss of dependency.