The Penang High Court will decide on May 7 if the Coroner’s Court had erred by not allowing lawyers of a death-in-custody victim to access relevant documents.
The inquest of the victim - Mohd Fadzrin Zaidi - will also continue on that date.
Fadzrin was 29-years-old when he was found dead on Nov 22, 2019, in a lockup in the Seberang Perai Utara district police headquarters.
At the time, the police said he hung himself and classified it as a “sudden death” case.
Lawyers representing the late Fadzrin previously filed a criminal revision application over coroner Norsalha Hamzah’s March 9 decision that documents such as sketch plans, photographs, CCTV footage, and other internal reports could not be served to them.
She reportedly based her ruling on Section 51A of the Criminal Procedural Code - which lists the types of documents prosecutors must provide to accused persons before trial, along with exceptions to the rule.
During last month’s hearing, the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) had reportedly refused to provide documents to Fadzrin’s lawyers - M Visvanathan and Sanjay Nathan.
Visvanathan previously raised alarm over Norsalha’s unprecedented decision and decried the inquest as a “sham”.
In a statement today, the NGO Eliminating Deaths and Abuse in Custody (Edict) - which Visvanathan heads - criticised the AGC’s actions.
“We want to remind the AGC that the point of an inquest is to uncover the cause and reason of death. It is not to determine who is wrong or right, or who wins or loses.
“Therefore, the AGC’s move of not wanting to cooperate with the (victim’s) family is not seen as an appropriate step in the current situation,” it said.
Prior to his death two years ago, Fadzrin had been arrested thrice for suspected drug use but was released every time after testing negative.
His parents previously told the media they do not believe their son - who worked as a gravedigger - would have taken his own life.
Questions raised over Kedah victim
Meanwhile, Edict also raised questions over investigations into another death-in-custody victim - Mohd Afis Ahmad.
The 31-year-old died on January 28 this year, one day after he was arrested by Yan district police officers in Kedah. He was later held in a lockup at the station.
Visvanathan, who represents the family, previously said the late Afis died from “blunt force trauma” to his head.
In a separate statement today, Edict said the police recently informed Afis’ parents they were still probing the death after some three months.
“It is very shocking how a case that happened under the police’s control - a death which did not involve any third party - is still not solved by the police and is taking such a long time to be investigated.
“It does not make sense how a death-in-custody case needs almost three months to be investigated.
“With all the CCTV facilities it has and knowledge of who was overseeing the lockup, why is the police taking so long to find the cause and reason of death?” the NGO questioned.
Edict stressed that an inquest must be held into Afis’ death as soon as possible. It also urged for any police officers who were responsible for the death to be charged.
Back in February, Kedah police chief Hasanuddin Hassan said 47 witnesses had already been questioned in connection with the death - including officers who had arrested Afis, officers who guarded his lockup, and other detainees in the same lockup.
He promised a thorough investigation into the death.
Afis was arrested on Jan 27 under Section 379 and 170 of the Penal Code on suspicion of theft and impersonating a police officer.
Before his death, Hasanuddin said Afis had been detained eight times for drug and crime-related offences. He had also been sentenced by the court for an unspecified offence. - Mkini
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