Lawyer Coroner S Court Rules Vinosiny Died Of Electrocution

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The Coroner’s Court in Alor Setar has ruled that Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) student S Vinosiny died from electrocution following an inquest, the family’s lawyer said, which confirmed the initial speculation surrounding her death.
However, lawyer M Manoharan claimed that the inquest into the 20-year-old’s death was done without the family’s knowledge.
This verdict, he said, also contradicts Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin's statement yesterday that the police have yet to conclude their investigation into the 20-year-old’s death.
In a written parliamentary reply to a question posed by Klang MP V Ganabatirau, Khaled also said that the ministry has not been informed about the result of the investigation.
When contacted by Malaysiakini, lawyer M Manoharan criticised the MP and minister for their naivety and ignorance regarding the issue.
“Why is the minister saying that the police investigation is still ongoing? The inquest appears to have already been concluded,” he said.
Lawyer M ManoharanManoharan said the Alor Setar Sessions Court issued a letter dated Feb 1 in response to an inquiry by Vinosiny's father, R Sivakumar, on Jan 31.
The letter stated: "After referring your request to the Coroner's Court judge, the court's decision dated Jan 25 for this case is that Vinosiny died as a result of an accident caused by electrocution."
Secret inquest?
Manoharan claimed that the inquest was conducted in secrecy last month, and the family was only notified about the cause of death upon inquiry.
“Apparently, an inquest was conducted without anyone’s knowledge including the family. It was done all in a day.
“The family members were not called as witnesses. They were shocked by the notification upon inquiry,” he said.
S VinosinyHe further questioned whether the court had summoned anyone to testify and why the family members were not called as witnesses.
“I am shocked and appalled at the decision and the decision was made without the family being given an opportunity to be heard.
“The audi alteram partem rule (a right to be heard) has been completely ignored and breached.
“I have never heard of an inquest carried out and concluded without proper investigation and without calling witnesses. This is shocking and disturbing,” he claimed.
Malaysiakini is contacting the Higher Education Ministry to seek clarification.
Filing civil suit
Manoharan said that he has received instruction from the family to proceed with filing a civil action for damages in causing the death of Vinosiny against UUM, the government, the police and the attorney-general for messing up on the inquest.
“We have also written in to request for the inquest proceedings notes and grounds and studied it before filing,” he added.
On May 21 last year, Vinosiny died a week after she returned to the campus in Sintok, Kedah.
R SivakumarAccording to Sivakumar, he received a call from UUM management at about 3pm on the day of the incident and was told that Vinosiny was found unconscious in her room.
He claimed that the caller was vague about what had happened and he was only told that his daughter had died after asking if there was any sign of life.
Sivakumar told Malaysiakini last year that his daughter’s body had obvious burn marks on her face and right hand with two of her fingers a purple-blackish colour when the doctor showed him her remains at Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar, Kedah.
UUM has been accused of not being forthcoming on the circumstances of Vinosiny’s death. However, the university apologised to the family on May 31 last year and vowed full cooperation with the family to find out the truth.
The family also urged authorities in October to open an inquest into the incident after five months of waiting for an explanation of Vinosiny’s death. - Mkini

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