Govt Cops Ordered To Pay Rm338k Over Balamurugan Death In Custody

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The Kuala Lumpur High Court has ordered the police and government to pay RM338,000 in damages to the family of S Balamurugan over his custodial death in 2017.
In a media statement this afternoon, Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) confirmed the award given by the civil court today, following the same court ruling in 2022 that held the authorities liable.
The advocacy group said judge Su Tiang Joo awarded general damages of RM100,000, aggravated damages of RM200,000, and special damages of RM16,000.
LFL added that the police and government were ordered to pay RM22,000 in costs to the deceased’s family.
“This is the outcome of a suit filed by the family of Balamurugan against the police and the government for negligence, assault and battery, false imprisonment, and breach of statutory duty for his death on Feb 8, 2017, while in custody at IPD Klang Utara.
“The deceased was found with 20 marks of injuries and his cause of death was determined by the pathologist as ‘coronary artery disease with multiple blunt force injuries’,” the NGO said.
On Feb 7, 2020, the two plaintiffs - Balamurugan’s Thai wife Natthanan Yoochomsuk and his brother S Balraj - filed the civil action.
On Jan 18, 2018, the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) found that the police had committed several serious breaches of conduct and abuses of power concerning the death of Balamurugan the year before.
Balamurugan was arrested and allegedly beaten at the Bandar Baru Klang police station on Feb 6, 2017, before he was taken to the Shah Alam centralised lock-up facility for a few hours and then sent for a remand hearing at a Klang Magistrate’s Court in the morning.
The magistrate ordered that Balamurugan be released, but instead, he was allegedly held at the North Klang police district headquarters and was found dead in the early hours of Feb 8, 2017.
Breach of statutory duty
According to the statement of claim, the two plaintiffs accused one of the defendants or other police officers of intentionally and without just cause committing assault and battery on Balamurugan while under detention, causing his death.
The duo alleged that the injuries and death of Balamurugan, as well as the resulting loss and damage, were caused by the defendants’ breach of duty.
The plaintiffs also claimed that Balamurugan’s death was caused by the defendants’ breach of statutory duty under Section 3(3) of the Police Act 1967, among others.
Section 3(3) states that the police force “shall subject to this act be employed in and throughout Malaysia (including the territorial waters thereof) for the maintenance of law and order, the preservation of the peace and security of Malaysia, the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension and prosecution of offenders, and the collection of security intelligence”.
The plaintiffs also contended that the defendants had arrested and detained the deceased without proper cause and in contravention of the law between Feb 6 and 8, 2017.
Through the lawsuit, the plaintiffs sought general, aggravated, exemplary, and vindicatory damages, as well as RM23,000 in special damages, damages to the family for loss from the death, and damages for the benefit of the deceased’s estate.
The duo sought a declaration that the defendants had with intention, without just cause, and with malice, violated the deceased’s basic freedom under the Federal Constitution.
They sought eight percent annual interest from the date of filing of the suit to the date of judgment, five percent interest from the date of judgment to the date of full settlement, costs, and any other relief deemed fit by the court.
Natthanan and Balraj are the administrators of Balamurugan’s estate.
The family was represented by lawyers Zaid Malek and Nabila Khairuddin, while the police and government were represented by senior federal counsel Nur Ezdiani Roleb and federal counsel Afiq Nazrin Zaharinan. - Mkini

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