Edict Wants Inquest Into Death Of Homeless Man Detained At Kota Bharu Lockup

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Edict (Eliminating Death And Abuse In Custody Together) is calling for an inquest into the custodial death of a homeless man who had been detained at the Kota Bharu police station.
According to Bernama, a 48-year-old homeless person who was in police custody had died due to bleeding in the brain while receiving treatment at Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital (HRPZ II), on June 23.
Kelantan deputy police chief Abdullah Mohammed Piah said the individual suffered a muscle spasm in the lock-up at Kota Bharu police station at about 12.20am on the same day.
“The person was later taken to HRPZ II for treatment but was reported to have died at 7.50pm (June 23).
“According to the post-mortem, the person had died due to bleeding in the brain with no external injuries. In fact, the initial investigation showed that the person also suffered from epilepsy,” he said.
“Edict wants to question why the detainees at the Kota Bharu police station were not given a thorough health check-up before being sent to lock up?
“Hasn’t the inspector-general of police ordered all the stations police to conduct a health check-up first on detainees before being sent to lockup?
“In addition, Rule 10 of the Lockup Rules 1953 also requires that a detainee be kept healthy before being allowed to be detained in a lockup,” said Edict in a statement.
The NGO said it would like to emphasise that every death in custody should be investigated through an inquest by the coroner as mandated by Section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
“Police are advised not to pre-empt the Coroner’s Court and announce and determine the cause of death.
“Edict would also like to urge the government to expedite the implementation of the IPCMC ( Independent Police Complaints of Misconduct Commission), which was drafted in 2005 so that any breach of duty and misconduct of a police officer in cases such as this can be investigated transparently and fairly.
“We would also like to appeal to the public who have any information about this victim to contact us so that due defence can be given to the victim and justice can be upheld,” said Edict.
The homeless man, believed to be of Malay ethnicity, was from Kampung Bechah Mulong, Peringat, and had been arrested by police on June 22 for possessing a dangerous weapon.
“Police arrested the homeless person after receiving complaints from the public and it was reported that he seemed unstable as he was talking to himself. After detaining him and conducting a body search, the police found a knife,” Abdullah had said earlier.
He also said the dead man had been detained under Section 6 (1) of the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958 and had a previous criminal record for possession of a weapon and stolen goods. - Mkini

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