Detainee: Cop bragged he was 'head thug' during alleged beating

A detainee recalled how a police inspector had purportedly bragged when allegedly assaulting him and death-in-custody victim S Balamurugan.

Clad in a lock-up outfit, Tamilasan Karapiah said he, Balamurugan and a juvenile detainee with the surname Ang were allegedly beaten by Inspector Mohaneswaran Thiagarajah while several other police officers watched.

He claimed that the beatings took place when investigating officer Inspector Vickneswaran Poobalan was questioning the trio about a car.

Tamilasan said Mohaneswaran first assaulted him, followed by Ang and finally, Balamurugan.

Testifying at the public inquiry held by the Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission (EAIC), the detainee claimed that Balamurugan had been slapped in the face and punched in the chest for about 10 minutes.

During this, Tamilasan claimed that Mohaneswaran said in Tamil, “You are a (gangster) head outside, but I am the (gangster) head inside (the police station).”

He said the beatings took place at the Bandar Baru Klang police station after they were arrested on Feb 6, and before they were brought to a lock-up facility at the North Klang police headquarters.

Tamilasan claimed that while no weapons were used against Balamurugan, he however was hit on the head repeatedly with a bamboo stick and beaten on the soles of his feet with a rubber hose over the course of a 30-minute interrogation.

After the beatings, he claimed that one officer used a phone camera to take pictures of them. However, Balamurugan alone had his photo taken while seated, because he was unable to stand.

He said he and Ang had to help change Balamurugan into his lockup uniform, due to Balamurugan’s inability to stand.

Later when the trio were being brought to the North Klang police district headquarters, Tamilasan said he had to help Balamurugan move.

On the journey by car, he said Balamurugan had coughed several times, and blood sprayed onto his hands when he attempted to cover his mouth. His left hand was handcuffed to Balamurugan’s right at the time.

He said when he tried to alert the police to Balamurugan’s condition, one police personnel at the front passenger seat dismissed his concerns saying, “Padan muka kau (Serves you right)”.

The police personnel in the driver’s seat offered to seek medical help, he said, but this did not materialise.

Upon arrival at the district headquarters, Tamilasan said Balamurugan required help from several detainees to reach the first floor of the building where the lockups were located.

"He replied that his body ached"

The next morning, when the trio was brought to the Klang magistrate’s court for remand with a fourth suspect, he said Balamurugan’s condition was so bad that he had dried blood on his beard.

He was so weak that he was unable to sit up, but instead leaned against a wall.

When Balamurugan drank some water brought by his lawyer Gerard Lazarus, the remaining water in the bottle was stained red with blood.

Tamilasan testified that he could not hear the magistrate Nik Nur Amalina Mat Zaidan’s orders, but was told by the lawyer that the magistrate had ordered Balamurugan’s release, while he and the other two were remanded for a week.

However, the police brought him, Balamurugan, and the other two back to the North Klang police district headquarters.

The last time he saw Balamurugan, Tamilasan said, was in the headquarters’ lockup facility before he was transferred to the Shah Alam central lockup facility.

“I told him to look after his body, his health. He replied that his body ached,” he said.

He said he learnt of Balamurugan’s death from another detainee on the next day, after the detainee heard of the news from a police personnel while out on a remand hearing.

Today is the first day in the EAIC’s second series of hearings on Balamurugan’s death. He was found dead in the North Klang lockup in the wee hours of Feb 8.

Tamilasan was testifying as the hearing’s 17th witness, out of a total of 55 to be called. The hearing was chaired by EAIC chief Yaacob Md Sam, and would continue tomorrow morning.

Also testifying today were Balamurugan's younger brother S Kumar, and the former investigating officer Insp Mohd Noor Husri Johari who had been investigating Balamurugan for an alleged robbery until his death.

Previously, two pathologists had reportedly told the hearing that the death was due to blunt force trauma, which may have aggravated his heart problems.

One pathologist Dr Kartini Md Arif reportedly said she had found bruises on Balamurugan’s left eye, right chest, legs, and back.

Free Malaysia Today quoted her as saying on May 17 that the injuries to the knees and ears could have been the result of a fall, but all other injuries would require a direct external force such as kicks and punches.- Mkini