No negligence or criminal element behind inmate's death: Court

Inmate K Roopan died of deep vein thrombosis three years ago, the Shah Alam Coroner’s Court ruled.

According to coroner Rasyihah Ghazali, there was no negligence or criminal element behind his death.

She added that no liability can be attached to Kajang Prison and Kajang Hospital, ruling the death was due to natural causes.

Roopan (above) was appealing against his criminal conviction prior to his death in custody on June 21, 2021.

“The deceased was obese, with a weight of 88kg, height of 171cm and BMI (body mass index) of 30.1.

“Post-mortem showed the deceased did not move much while under custody, and there was a risk of blood clot.

“There is no negligence by Kajang Prison and Kajang Hospital. The deceased died of natural causes and death was due to pulmonary embolism on the deceased’s left foot,” Rasyihah ruled.

The coroner noted that the quarantine room at Kajang Hospital where Roopan was placed before his death was not conducive due to a lack of good air circulation and dirty conditions.

After the coroner proceedings, the deceased’s uncle K Sevakumar, 51, expressed sadness over the verdict.

He added that the family will discuss with their lawyer T Shashi Deva the next course of action.

The lawyer said the family filed a separate civil action against Kajang Hospital at the Shah Alam High Court back in June.

Contradicting report

On June 17, 2021, the 25-year-old inmate’s family received a call that he had been sent to Kajang Hospital due to breathing difficulties.

Then on June 19 of the same year, his family was informed that Roopan had a heart infection and needed to be admitted to the ward for five to six days.

Two days later he was discharged from the hospital.

After leaving the hospital, Roopan was reported to have lost consciousness around 11.30am while in a segregation room at Kajang Prison.

He was sent back to Kajang Hospital and was pronounced dead at 12pm - about an hour and a half before his family called the hospital to request a visit.

His family was only informed of his death around 2pm.

When the family later visited the mortuary, a police inspector reportedly told them that Roopan had tested positive for Covid-19, which they said was contrary to what the hospital had previously reported.

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