PUTRAJAYA, April 29 — The Court of Appeal here today postponed to June 17 to deliver its decision on the appeals brought by the police, the government and a former constable against a High Court decision which found them liable for the death of A. Kugan.
A three-member panel led by Justice Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof set the new date after requesting parties in the appeal to provide further submission on the issue of misfeasance of public office in relation to custodial death.
The court had initially fixed today to deliver its decision, but when the court proceeding began, Justice Mohamad Ariff informed the parties that the court was not going to give its decision today.
Instead, he said, he wanted them to provide further submission on that issue and subsequently gave lawyer R.Sivarasa, representing Kugan’s mother N. Indra, until May 14 to submit his submission and two weeks for senior federal counsel Azizan Md Arshad and lawyer Ramesh Sivakumar to respond to the submission.
Azizan is representing the police and the government, while Ramesh appeared for former police constable V. Navindran.
On June 26, last year, High Court judge Datuk V. T. Singham (now retired) allowed Indra’s civil suit and ordered the appellants to pay Kugan’s family RM801,700 in damages.
In their memorandum of appeal, the appellants said they were appealing against the judgment which found them liable for Kugan’s death, as well as the punitive and exemplary damages awarded to Kugan’s family.
They contend that the High Court’s decision in awarding damages for misfeasance of public office was wrong and went beyond the Civil Law Act 1956.
The appellants claimed that under that Act, there was a limitation to Kugan’s estate’s claim but the High Court went beyond that in awarding damages for misfeasance of public office.
The police, government and Navindran contend that Indra had filed the legal action under Section 7 and 8 of the Act which confined to estate and dependency claim and did not provide for misfeasance of public office.
Indra, 47, had filed the civil suit against then Selangor police chief Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, who is now Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Navindran, former Subang Jaya police chief ACP Zainal Rashid Abu Bakar (now deceased), the IGP and the Government.
She sued the appellants over her son’s death in police custody at the USJ Taipan police station on Jan 20, 2009. Kugan, 22, was detained as a suspect in a luxury car theft case. — Bernama
