LockUp Death - Furniture shop sales assistant's inquest postponed to Aug 12

Lim Gaik Suan (left), the mother of deceased furniture shop sales assistant Cheah Chin Lee, with a friend outside the coroner’s court after the inquest proceedings were postponed yesterday.



The inquest into the death of Cheah Chin Lee, a furniture shop sales assistant, will be held on Aug 12 and 13 -- exactly a year after his death in police custody.

The inquest, which was supposed to begin at the coroner's court here yesterday and last until Friday, had to be deferred to the new dates after M. Visvanathan, the counsel holding a watching brief for the deceased's family, informed the court that he had been admitted to hospital from July 6 to 12.

Coroner L. Umma Devi said in court that it was earlier agreed that the inquest would proceed for four days from yesterday.

"The court had blocked out these dates for the inquest. However, the counsel faxed over a medical certificate to the court yesterday (Monday) afternoon, which was a public holiday.

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Evidence was suppressed in Kugan case, says judge

A High Court judge who held that the nation's current Inspector-General of Police was responsible for the death of detainee A. Kugan, said there was also suppression of evidence during the trial.

Datuk V.T. Singham, who retired last month, said such an action amounted to undermining the judicial authority and ability of the court from performing its function.

"The evidence of Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, when considered together with the testimonies of three other witnesses, is tantamount to suppression of evidence," he said in his 128-page judgment, which was made available today.

Singham said no person of any position or rank should take the court for granted and attempt to hide the truth to escape liability.

"Police officers and Khalid must be reminded that their conduct lies not in the cold print of the statute book but in their integrity and conscience," he said.

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'Tampin lock-up death not our fault'

The death of a 43-year-old inmate at the Tampin lock-up on Saturday has nothing to do with police brutality.

State police chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Osman Salleh said a coroner and a pathologist had examined the remains of P. Karuna Nithi (pic) and both have said there were no bruises or external injuries on the deceased to suggest abuse.

“We are waiting for the final post-mortem report to see if the deceased suffered any internal injury. But as of now, the pathologist is unable to establish the cause of death,” he told reporters here. SAC Osman said the jobless man had been well taken care of when he was in the lock-up and there are CCTV recordings to prove this.

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Lock-up deaths: Home Minister assures action in Karuna Nithi case

Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has given the assurance that action will be taken against the policemen responsible for the death in lock-up of 42-year-old P. Karuna Nithi.

"I will give due attention to the case.

"If any officer or personnel had breached lock-up standard operating procedures, action will definitely be taken," he told R. Sivarasa (PKR- Subang).

He reiterated that there would be no compromise against errant personnel.

Earlier, in Parliament lobby, PKR vice-president N. Surendran, who is Pandang Serai MP, said that the post-mortem results revealed that the deceased sustained 49 injuries all over his body as a result of being beaten by a blunt object.

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