PETALING JAYA, Feb 27 — The family of P. Karuna Nithi urged the police today to renew investigations into his death now that the inquest ruling that he died in custody is no longer being contested.
Karuna’s elder brother, P. Elam Sezhian, stressed that the police were obligated to investigate the 2013 death, which a coroner’s court previously said found to be the result of beatings by multiple assailants including police officers.
“The purpose of me lodging a report today is that I want the police to investigate this case and take action against those who are responsible,’’ he said to the press at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters.
Last week, the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) withdrew its application for the Court of Appeal to reverse the 2016 decision by a Coroner’s Court in Seremban.
Also present was Elam Sezhian’s lawyer, Zaed Malek who urged the authorities to act immediately.
“The AGC has withdrawn their appeal. This means that the coroner’s court findings stand and the authorities will now have no excuse but to reopen investigations.
“The case has been dragged on long enough since 2013 and we seek justice on the matter,’’ he said.
An inquest was formed following public outcry and closed-circuit television camera recordings from Karuna’s lock-up cell showed he was assaulted by police and other detainees while in the cell.
In January 2016, the Seremban Coroner’s Court ruled that he was beaten to death by police and the victim’s inmates 49 injuries were found, mostly bruises from blunt objects, all over his body.
Forensic pathologist Dr Sharifah Safoorah Syed Alwee’s post-mortem report showed that the victim died of “fatty change of liver” despite visible signs of abuse on the deceased’s body, including a jaw fracture, and was rejected by Coroner Jagjit Singh.
Public prosecutors later filed to re-open the inquest for the second time but the Coroner maintained its verdict on April 18, 2016 before another revision of the decision was dismissed on October 9, 2017 by the High Court.
