PUTRAJAYA, April 20 — A total 55 witnesses will be called in four Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) public hearing sessions over the death of a detainee S. Balamurugan in a police lockup on Feb 7.

EAIC chairman Datuk Yaacob Md Sam said the public hearing session is open to the public and media at four sets of dates, namely, May 15 to 19; June 5 to 9; July 10 to 14; and July 24 to 28 at the EAIC Hearing Room, Level 11, Bangunan Menara Usahawan, Precinct 2 here, from 9am to 4.30pm.

He said the EAIC would extend invitations to the family of the dead detainee, Royal Malaysian Police, Malaysia Bar Council, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) , Home Ministry and interested parties in line with Section 36 of the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission Act (Act 700).

"This public hearing which will be presided by me and several other commissioners is an extension of the preliminary investigations of EAIC to detect whether there was misconduct in the death of S. Balamurugan while in police custody,” he said in a statement here today.

Balamurugan, 44, was found dead at the Klang Utara District Police Headquarters on Feb 7. — Bernama