Kugan case judge Singham dies after illness

Judge called out 'suppression of evidence' by Khalid Abu Bakar and other police witnesses

KUALA LUMPUR: Former senior High Court judge V.T Singham, 68, has died after being in poor health.

His niece, G. Subashini, 38, said her uncle had been receiving treatment at Pantai hospital here since Sunday due to deteriorating health.

He will be buried in Ipoh on Sunday, she said. The funeral will be held at 11am at No 6, Jalan Abdul Manap, Lim Garden, Ipoh.

Singham, from Batu Gajah, Perak, was a bachelor. He opted to retire a year early at 65 in 2013, when he was the most senior member of the High Court bench at the time but was not elevated to the Court of Appeal.

Among the cases he heard was that of A Kugan, who died while in police custody. In his judgement Justice Singham described the evidence of then Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar, now Inspector-General of Police, and three other police witnesses as tantamount to suppression of evidence.

Justice Singham called for the implementation of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to look into police discipline due to the sharp rise in custodial violence, torture, and death in police custody.