Cop denies beating Balamurugan, account contradicts other witnesses

The police inspector who has been accused of beating custodial death victim S Balamurugan and two other detainees have denied the allegations.

"Those are all lies...it is untrue," Inspector Mohaneswaran Thiagarajah said during the Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission (EAIC) public inquiry into Balamurugan's death in Putrajaya today.

He was asked about the allegations made by Tamilarasan Karapiah, who had been arrested at the same time as Balamurugan.

Tamilarasan, who was the 17th witness in the hearing, had claimed that Mohaneswaran had beaten him with a bamboo stick and rubber hose, as well as slapped Balamurugan's face and punched his chest for 10 minutes.

Tamilarasan had also claimed that Mohaneswaran had said to them in Tamil, "You are a (gangster) head outside, but I am the (gangster) head inside (the police station)."

The inspector denied he said this, alleging that he only said to Tamilarasan in Tamil "You're brave to steal a car in Klang Utara and Klang Selatan."

"I did not show my authority....I didn't introduce myself (to the detainees)," Mohaneswaran added.

Meanwhile, his account of what happened the night Balamurugan was detained also contradicted the testimonies of the previous witnesses, including other police officers.

[More to follow]

-Mkini