Handcuffed man broke free of police escort and leapt to his death - Penang police

A man who fell to his death at the Georgetown Court Complex while handcuffed had broken free from his police escort and flung himself through a window on the complex's fifth floor, said Penang police chief Sahabuddin Abd Manan.

"On Monday, Aug 10, 2020, at around 12.15pm, I received the news from police at the Georgetown Court Complex that a detainee had fallen from the fifth floor of the building and died on the spot."

The cause of death was "head injuries consistent with a fall from a height" said Sahabuddin in a statement this morning.

He said that the deceased was a 30-year-old of Chinese ethnicity who had been detained in Jelutong on Aug 6 after a violent altercation with his neighbour in which the latter had suffered a cracked right eye socket.

"The deceased was investigated under Section 325 of the Penal Code for causing grievous hurt and remanded for four days. On Aug 10, he was charged in court and sentenced to three months in prison and a RM2,000 fine."

Sahabuddin said that at 11.35am yesterday the deceased had requested to go to the bathroom and was escorted by a police officer.

"Despite being in handcuffs he managed to break free and attempted to throw himself through a window on the fifth floor. The officer tried to stop him, but he managed to wriggle free and fell to his death on a lower floor."

Sahabuddin said that the officer suffers injuries to both hands in his attempt to prevent the deceased from jumping.

He added that the deceased was self-employed and had a record of criminal and drug-related convictions.

Sahabuddin added that the death was now being investigated under Section 223 of the Penal Code which covers escape from confinement through the negligence of a public servant.

Earlier human rights watchdog Eliminating Deaths And Abuse In Custody Together (Edict) had called on police to explain the death

"We received a report that Wong Kok Leong, 30, was found dead and handcuffed after falling from the upper floors of the court complex yesterday morning," an Edict spokesperson told Malaysiakini.

"It is shocking that someone who is still handcuffed can be found dead after falling from the upper floors of a courthouse, which should be the safest place for detainees.

"Such deaths are becoming an everyday occurrence. Edict is very concerned about the trend of fatalities like this without the intervention of the authorities," he added.

Edict said it was also notified of a second case involving the death of an Indonesian prisoner at Sungai Buloh Prison.

"The prisoner is said to have complained of stomach pain as a result of food poisoning in June and died afterwards, but the case was only known to Edict yesterday when his cellmate contacted us for help in probing the case."

Edict called for a coroner's inquest into each case as enshrined in section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

"The parties involved shall not only be satisfied with police investigation alone," it said.

Malaysiakini has reached out to Sungai Buloh prison for a response to the latter fatality. - Mkini