The Coroner's Court in Kuala Lumpur ruled today that the death of 36-year-old lorry driver R Thangaraja while in police custody at Dang Wangi two years ago was due to negligence and omission by the police in not giving him insulin.

In a 28-page verdict, coroner Mohd Zulbahrin Zainuddin found that Thangaraja, who was suffering from Type 1 diabetes, was not given the medication for approximately three days although he brought along the insulin jab to the lock-up.

A type 1 diabetes is also known as juvenile diabetes and Thangaraja was dependent on the insulin jab as his pancreas could not produce enough insulin.

Zulbahrin's verdict was read by coroner Shamsudin Abdullah today.

“The cause of death was due to coronary artery disease, and probable diabetic ketoacidosis due to the high level of sugar in his urine. The failure of the deceased to get insulin jab while in custody and the surrounding in the lock-up may have caused stress on him.

“His life could have been saved if he was given early treatment, especially when there were signs of pain. Failure to give early treatment as a result of negligence in the lock-up management resulted in his deteriorating health while being placed in the Dang Wangi lock-up,” said the coroner in his finding. 

Thangaraja was arrested after he was found sleeping in his car at the Sunlight Badminton Court car park near his friend's workshop on the night of Nov 15, 2015, by the Cheras criminal investigation department, but was brought to the Dang Wangi police station.

The deceased, who got married at the age of 21, has six children between six and 18. He was the sole breadwinner of the family.

According to Thangaraja's mother, his son was suffering from diabetes before he turned 21 and needed the insulin jab daily. He would have headaches without it, she added.

The deceased wife, K Kalaivani, told the court that the last time her husband sought treatment at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital was in September 2015, where he was given three to four months of medical supply.

“From the testimony given, the court found that insulin injection was vital for the deceased. Without it, he would suffer severe complications,” said Zulbahrin.

Looked weak while in police custody 

According to the police record, Thangaraja was arrested for suspected theft of motor vehicles.

Upon his arrest, he was brought to the Dang Wangi district police lock-up whereupon ASP Faizal Abdullah observed that he looked weak, less lively and kept to himself.

“The court is reminded of the testimony of the mother and wife of the victim over the need of insulin as medication,” the coroner said.

When asked by Faizal, Thangaraja replied that he was unwell and had said he needed his medical supply which was left in his car.

Faizal then instructed one detective corporal, Zaska, to retrieve the medication from the car.

Faizal identified the items taken by Zaska to be insulin jab but made no directions for Thangaraja, or was unsure whether the deceased had injected it.

Before the remand proceedings the next day, Thangaraja complained to sergeant Nor Azman Hassan that he was a diabetic patient and needed the insulin jab, and it was said that Thangaraja managed to get his jab.

Despite this testimony, the coroner raised a doubt whether this was actually done, as there were several procedures that one has to undergo before medication is retrieved and given.

During a court proceeding, the magistrate allowed a three-day remand order from Nov 16 to 18, 2015.

Thangaraja also informed the magistrate that he needed the insulin jabs three times daily.

At about 4pm on Nov 17, while having his statement recorded, Thangaraja complained to Nor Azman that he needed the insulin jab but the officer had no knowledge whether insulin was given.

On Nov 18, during the second remand proceeding, the magistrate only allowed an extension of one day remand and ordered the police to send Thangaraja to the hospital to receive treatment.

“I believe the magistrate made the order based on the direct observation made on the deceased needing treatment. In this context, hospital treatment did not mean that only insulin to be given, but you must bring him to the hospital,” the coroner said.

Zulbahrin noted that the directive was not followed as Dang Wangi put the task to Cheras district police who made the arrest to bring Thangaraja to the hospital.

In the end, Thangaraja was not brought to the hospital and died at the Dang Wangi lock-up between 8.30pm on Nov 18 to 12.30am on Nov 19, 2015.

Lawyer M Visvanathan and Chan Yen Hui appeared for the family while Nur Akmal Farhan from the Attorney-General's Chambers assisted in the inquest, where 15 witnesses testified.

Commenting on the decision, Visvanathan highlighted that death in custody is not a problem faced by the Indian community, but a Malaysian problem.

He referred to the parliamentary reply by the Home Ministry to Sungai Siput MP Dr D Jeyakumar, where out of 110 death in custody cases recorded between 2010 and 2016, 41 of those involved were Malays, 20 Chinese, 27 Indians and 20 foreigners, while two are others.

“This shows the death in custody also affects the Malay community and is not an Indian problem. It is a Malaysian problem,” Visvanathan, who is also a human rights lawyer, said.