On Friday S Henry told his father 'not to worry about him'. Twenty-four hours later, the 18-year-old youth is said to have hanged himself at the Simpang Renggam detention centre in Johor.

Neither his father H Sreedhran nor Parti Keadilan Rakyat's (PKR) Youth wing could accept this.

In a press statement yesterday, PKR Youth vice-president S Manickavasagam said there were too many loose ends in the case.

According to the official version, Henry ( left ) hanged himself using a blanket just hours after he was transferred to the centre from the Kajang police station in Selangor.

Since he was new, the deceased was placed in an isolated cell.

"The immediate reaction of the police was to claim that there was no foul play. The police do not appear to have conducted any serious investigations but were quick to clear themselves.

"As usual in such cases, the hospital authorities have not been helpful and seem to be taking orders from the police.

"Necessary information has not been given to the family and the hospital is also delaying the release of the post-mortem report to the family," said Manickavasagam.

Suspicious circumstances

According to him, there are several issues that arouse suspicion such as why was Henry's body discovered only hours later and where did the personnel on duty go?

In view of this, PKR Youth called for an urgent probe and public inquiry into the matter. It also wants Henry's family and their legal advisor to be kept informed about the progress.

Apart from this, it said Inspector-General of Police Mohd Bakri Omar and his deputy Musa Hassan must give an assurance that the matter will be ' impartially, exhaustively and comprehensively' investigated.

The wing also conveyed its concern over the rising numbers of custodial deaths and noted the lack of seriousness on the part of the authorities regarding this issue.

"Most of these cases go unresolved. We ask that all these cases be reviewed immediately and action be taken against those responsible," said Manickavasagam.

Meanwhile, Sreedhran ( right ) told reporters yesterday that he did not believe that his son could have committed suicide.

"On Friday, he told me not to worry about him. Furthermore, the cloth or blanket used was thick and short - it could not have blocked his airway," he was quoted as saying by the Star .

According to the father, Henry was linked to a murder case about a year ago and had gone into hiding.

He was caught when allegedly trying to steal a motorcycle three months ago.

Kluang district police chief Malik Abdul Harun said the case has been classified as sudden death because the post-mortem results showed that it was suicide.