PUTRAJAYA, Jan 21 — The government succeeded in its appeal at the Court of Appeal today, overturning a High Court decision that had found it liable for negligence in the death of a security guard who died by suicide while in custody at a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) lock-up in Klang in 2019.

A three-member panel led by Justice Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan, in allowing the government’s appeal, together with the appeals filed by the Selangor maritime director and an MMEA investigating officer, set aside the High Court’s decision.

The High Court had held them liable for negligence and ordered them to pay RM194,170 in damages to the family of the deceased, M. Thinagaran.

In a unanimous decision, Justice Mohamed Zaini said that although the appellants owed a general duty of care to the deceased while he was in custody, the High Court erred in finding that the risk of suicide was reasonably foreseeable in the case.

“In this case, evidence showed that the deceased did not exhibit suicidal tendencies, was medically assessed and appeared normal and stable during regular monitoring. Therefore, foreseeability, a critical element in establishing liability, was not established,” he said.

He said the Thinagaran’s case was similar to the decision in the case of Sushila Rani Ramasamy v Government of Malaysia & Ors, where the Court of Appeal held that the risk of suicide must emanate from the deceased’s history to establish a specific foreseeable risk.

Justice Mohamed Zaini, sitting with Justices Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid and Datuk Nadzarin Wok Nordin, meanwhile, dismissed a cross-appeal brought by Thinagaran’s family against the High Court’s earlier dismissal of their claim for damages for tort of misfeasance, breach of statutory duty and aggravated damages.

The court awarded RM40,000 in costs to the appellants.

The deceased’s widow, R Tenaswari, and father, K Madhavan, as joint administrators of Thinagaran’s estate, had sued the appellants on grounds of negligence, breach of statutory duty and misfeasance in public office.

The High Court only allowed the negligence claim, finding insufficient evidence to support the remaining allegations.

The judge awarded damages of RM172,800 for loss of earnings, RM6,370 as special damages, RM5,000 for funeral expenses, and RM10,000 for bereavement.

The facts of the case revealed that on Jan 9, 2019, MMEA officers, acting on intelligence, intercepted a suspicious vessel off the Selangor coast. They found Thinagaran and another individual, R Inthiran, on board. A search also uncovered packages later confirmed to contain drugs.

Both men were remanded for investigation and detained at the maritime enforcement office in Klang.

Thinagaran had been sent to the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital earlier that day for treatment. He was diagnosed with stress-related headache and prescribed medication.

He was found dead four days later, hanging from the ceiling of his cell using a pair of pants provided to him while in custody. A post-mortem confirmed the cause of death as hanging.

At the Court of Appeal today, Senior Federal Counsel Liew Horng Bin and Siti Syakimah Ibrahim appeared for the appellants while lawyers M. Manoharan and P.Subramaniam represented the family of the deceased. — Bernama