Court awards RM1.1mil to family of businessman who died in police custody

The judgment sum, including RM500,000 in general damages for negligence, RM200,000 in aggravated damages, and RM414,000 for dependency claims, follows a hearing on the assessment of damages last month.

The Shah Alam High Court had ruled previously that an award of aggravated damages was warranted because S Thanabalan had been denied timely access to medical attention and had been held in a cramped lock-up cell with no access to clean water.

SHAH ALAM:

 The High Court has awarded about RM1.1 million in damages to the family of a businessman who died while in police custody here seven years ago.

Justice Nor Hayati Mat also ordered the government to pay 5% interest per annum to S Thanabalan’s widow, V Santhi, and her father, P Vathian – the administrators of the deceased’s estate – from the day he was found dead on April 17, 2018, until the full judgment sum is paid.

The judgment was delivered online this afternoon following a hearing on the assessment of damages last month.

The sum comprises RM500,000 in general damages for negligence; RM200,000 in aggravated damages, including for pain and suffering; RM414,000 for dependency claims; RM30,000 for bereavement; and RM10,000 in special damages for funeral expenses.

Nor Hayati also awarded RM7,000 in costs to Santhi and Vathian.

Lawyers M Visvanathan, V Sanjay Nathan and V Pushan Qin Nathan represented Santhi and Vathian, while senior federal counsel Siti Syakimah Ibrahim and Amin Azizan acted for the government.

The parties returned to the High Court for the assessment of damages after the Federal Court last year dismissed the government’s application for leave to challenge a Court of Appeal ruling that the police were negligent in Thanabalan’s death.

On Oct 30, 2023, a three-member bench chaired by Justice Lee Swee Seng ruled that the plaintiffs had provided sufficient evidence to prove negligence.

Lee, who set aside a previous High Court ruling, said an award of aggravated damages was warranted because Thanabalan had been denied timely access to medical attention and had been held in a cramped lock-up cell with no access to clean water.

A post-mortem report confirmed that Thanabalan’s cause of death was leptospirosis, typically associated with consuming food or water contaminated with leptospira bacteria found in rat urine.

On Dec 21, 2020, coroner Rofiah Mohamad ruled that police negligence contributed to Thanabalan’s death.

She noted that forensics confirmed he had myocardial bridging, a heart condition that normally does not cause death, and stated that the detainee likely died either at the Shah Alam police headquarters or en route to the hospital. - FMT