'Karuna's death caused by cops, inmates' - inquest verdict stands
The verdict in P Karuna Nithi's inquest in 2015 that his death was due to beatings by police and other detainees still stands.
This came after the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) filed a notice of discontinuance of its appeal for revision of the findings, a three-member Court of Appeal heard today...
The verdict in P Karuna Nithi's inquest in 2015 that his death was due to beatings by police and other detainees still stands.
This came after the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) filed a notice of discontinuance of its appeal for revision of the findings, a three-member Court of Appeal heard today.
Justice Umi Kalthum Abdul Majid, who was informed by DPP Nik Syahril Nik Ab Rahman about the letter dated Feb 15 on the discontinuance, allowed the application.
The other justices were Harminder Singh Dhaliwal and Stephen Chung.
Karuna Nithi's family was represented by Latheefa Koya, while lawyer Puspanathan Sellam was holding a watching brief for the Malaysian Bar.
On Oct 9, 2017, the High Court in Seremban upheld the Coroner's Court findings that Karuna Nithi had died due to beatings from the police and detainees.
Karuna Nithi was first remanded at Tampin district police station in May 2013, following an altercation with his wife and was further detained there when his family could not raise his bail after he was charged.
The engineer was found dead in a lock-up at the police station on Jun 1, 2013.
Police CCTV recordings from Karuna Nithi's lock-up showed him being assaulted by police and other detainees while in the cell. He was found with 49 injuries, mostly bruises, all over his body.
On Jan 28, 2015, Seremban coroner Jagjit Singh ruled he was beaten by police and inmates.
Pathologist Dr Sharifah Safoorah Syed Alwee’s testimony that the victim had died of “fatty change of liver”, a condition commonly linked to alcoholism, was rejected by the coroner.
Commenting on today's decision, Latheefa said the AGC should have made the decision earlier and not wait until the Lawyers for Liberty highlighted the issue via a press conference.
Now, the family can pursue further action based on the pathologist's testimony on the cause of death, the lawyer added.
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