The Federal Court will hear on Jan 10 the leave to appeal by the police and government over the order to pay RM357,500 to the family of lorry driver P Chandran who died at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters lock-up more than five years ago.

This case would give an opportunity for the apex court to possibly revisit the controversial majority decision in the A Kugan's case, where it was ruled that no exemplary damages shall be awarded to family members of individuals who die in custody as a result of police action, based on Section 8(2) of the Civil Law Act 1956.

A total of RM300,000 in exemplary damages which was awarded to Kugan's mother N Indra at the Kuala Lumpur High Court and upheld by the Court of Appeal had therefore been withdrawn.

The date for Chandran's case was decided following a case management before the Federal Court deputy registrar Wan Fatimah Zaharah Wan Yussof today.

In Chandran's case, his family was awarded RM200,000 in exemplary damages out of the RM357,500 awarded by the High Court.

“Yes, it is fixed for leave to appeal,” family lawyer M Visvanathan told Malaysiakini.

In his judgment delivered on Jan 9, Justice S Nantha Balan said the police and government acted in negligence in not sending Chandran to the hospital and breached their duty to take care of the lorry driver.

"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," the judge had said.

Chandran, who was 47 then, had died due to hypertensive heart disease as a result of the police not giving or allowing medicine related to his health.

The decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal on May 22, this year after a three-member bench dismissed the police's appeal only on exemplary damages.

Meanwhile, the Federal Court today also fixed Jan 15 for case management over the police's appeal on teenager Aminulrasyid Amzah's death.

Aminulrasyid's mother and sister were awarded RM414,800 by the Shah Alam High Court but at the Court of Appeal, this was reduced to RM114,800 after the appellate court had set aside the RM100,000 exemplary damages, another RM150,000 for abuse of power and that the general damages were reduced from RM150,000 to RM100,000.

Lawyer Latheefa Koya said a hearing at the Federal Court could not be fixed as the written judgment in Aminulrasyid's case is not out yet.