Family wants independent probe into detainee’s custodial death

The family of detainee M Thanaseelan has called for an independent probe following his death while in police custody.

Speaking on behalf of his family, lawyer Melissa Sasidaran said Thanaseelan’s family wants the team to consist of officers from Bukit Aman, instead of those from the Bukit Sentosa police station, where Thanaseelan had died.

“An independent probe must be conducted under Section 304(b) of the Penal Code for culpable homicide not amounting to murder,” Melissa told reporters outside the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters today.

Melissa, together with Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) executive director Eric Paulsen and Thanaseelan’s 20-year-old daughter and his mother-in-law, had accompanied Thanaseelan’s wife to lodge a police report on the matter.

Thanaseelan’s wife, 42-year-old S Piremilah, claimed that she was not even informed of her late husband’s arrest and was only informed about it after his death.

“And they didn’t even say he had died, they just said he was sick,” said the mother-of-four.

The housewife also claimed she was only able to view Thanaseelan’s remains three days after his death. 

Thanaseelan, 43, was found dead at the Bukit Sentosa police station, Bukit Beruntung, on Feb 25 at 1.50am. His four-day remand order was due to end on the following day.

Melissa and Paulsen in a joint statement last month, citing post-mortem results conducted on Thanaseelan, had said that the cause of death was determined to be "septicaemia due to suppurative peritonitis as a consequence of perforated gastric ulcer".

"According to the pathologists - due to the serious gastric, ulcer, perforation and infection, the deceased would have been in considerable pain for at least a week prior to his death. Further, he would have been extremely weak and unable to eat due to his condition,” the two had claimed. 

Meanwhile, pointing out how Thanaseelan was only given antacids, a gastric medication after he was purportedly admitted to the Kuala Kubu Baru Hospital on the day before his death, Paulsen questioned the “different standards given to detainees”.

“They are also humans. The Ministry of Health and Bukit Aman must investigate this matter. Something must have gone wrong somewhere,” Paulsen said today.

Following Thanaseelan’s death, the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) had confirmed that the commission had commenced its investigation a day after he died.- Mkini