Drug suspect found hanged in police lockup

 

A suspect who was arrested with four others for possession of drugs worth RM116,000 was found hanged in a lockup at the Seberang Perai Selatan district police headquarters in Sungai Jawi, near Nibong Tebal in Penang today.

The 40-year-old man was found dead, hanged with his prison shirt from the iron bars of the lock-up cell door after he was arrested yesterday in Lunas, Kedah for investigations in a drug trafficking case.

Penang police chief Khaw Kok Chin said police discovered the incident at 10am when officers on duty patrolled the lock-up cells before an inspection and found the man who worked as a trader hung himself.

“The incident occurred after the man was brought back from a remand application in court and there were three other detainees in the same cell as the suspect but they were sleeping at the time.

“Examination of the closed circuit camera (CCTV) footage in the cell found that the suspect had indeed hanged himself.

“Police carried out a preliminary examination in accordance with prescribed procedure, including calling the coroner who confirmed that the suspect died without any criminal elements.

“The body was sent to Sungai Bakap Hospital for an autopsy and the case was classified as sudden death,” he said at a press conference in George Town today.

Meanwhile, Khaw said the deceased was arrested with four other men aged 35 to 58 during a series of raids around Penang and Lunas from noon yesterday to 7am today.

He said during the raids carried out in Nibong Tebal, Taman Tasek Mutiara, and Seberang Perai Tengah, as well as Lunas, police confiscated 11.3kg of cannabis worth RM37,400 and 1.39kg of ‘magic mushrooms’ worth RM78,000.

“The syndicate is believed to have processed the magic mushrooms into cigarettes and selling it for RM60 a ‘hit’ since the beginning of this year for the local market,” he said.

He said two of the suspects were unemployed while the other two were shop assistants and gardeners, all of whom tested positive for drugs and had four to 22 previous records related to drugs and crime.

He said all four were remanded for seven days for investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.

“Police also seized cash (RM1,020), two cars, and a motorcycle worth RM85,520 in total,” he said, adding that from January to June 30, Penang police arrested 7,216 drug suspects.

- Bernama