The coroner's court decided today that the death of a 21-year-old assistant restaurant manager in April was due to injuries sustained when he fell from his car and not because he was assaulted by several City Hall tow-truck operators.

Magistrate Tengku Amir Zaki Tengku Abdul Rahman said: "After observing the evidence of the witnesses and going through the exhibits, as well as the case presented by the prosecution and defence, I find that the cause of death is contre coup head injury due to a fall."

Contre coup is a backward fall that strikes the back of the head.

On April 21, Wong Jun Lum had argued with several City Hall tow-truck operators who wanted to tow his car because it was parked on a yellow line outside his Sri Melati flat in Jalan Loke Yew, Kuala Lumpur.

When they insisted on towing his car, Wong jumped into the vehicle. He was later seen to have opened the door and fallen out.

Wong returned home and was later found dead by his brother on the bathroom floor of their flat.

According to forensic reports, he succumbed to head injuries caused by a blow, or a number of blows, from a blunt object to the top of his head.

Police classified the case as an accident but Wong's family alleged foul play. An inquest was initiated following a police report made by Wong's father.

'Victim of murder'

On Dec 4, one of the counsels representing Wong's family, Gobind Singh Deo, told the hearing that Wong's death was due to the beatings by the tow-truck operators and not from injuries suffered when he fell from his car.

Gobind added that while the reasons Wong jumped from his moving car were mysterious, there was no doubt that Wong was a "victim of murder".

"He jumped out of his car due to reasons only known by the tow-truck operators. It was murder and alleged cover-up on the part of the police," he claimed.

Wong's family is also represented by Gurpreet Singh Sidhu. Umar Saifuddin Jaafar prosecuted.

Meanwhile, when contacted, Gobind said Wong's family was still deciding on their next course of action.

"One of our options is to apply for a revision (of the inquest). The other thing is, we could file a civil suit against the City Hall," he told malaysiakini .