Kuala Lumpur: Any policemen found responsible for the alleged custodial death of a 42-year-old ethnic Indian man will be punished, Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi assured on Tuesday.
Malaysian police have earlier claimed that the death of 43-year-old P Karuna Nithi, an inmate at the Tampin lock-up, was not due to torture.
"If any officer or personnel had breached lock-up standard operating procedures, action will definitely be taken," Hamidi told an opposition MP, R Sivarasa. He reiterated that there would be no compromise against errant personnel.
Police had detained Karuna Nithi on May 28 after his wife lodged a report that he had assaulted her after a quarrel at home. Karuna Nithi was later found unconscious in his cell and died on June 1.
Meanwhile, the victim`s brother P Elam Sezhian said that three police reports were lodged by the family demanding an investigation into the case.
He said his brother was healthy when he was detained by the police. "However, we were shocked when informed by the police on June 1 that he was dead," he said.
Another Opposition MP, N Surendran, said that post-mortem results have revealed that the victim had 49 injuries all over his body as a result of being beaten by a blunt object.
"It is ridiculous that the cause of death was attributed to fatty change of liver when it is clear he was beaten," he was quoted by Star newspaper as saying.
PTI
