I feel ashamed & sad to be M'sian. I want those who killed my husband hanged to death - widow

VIDEO INSERTED UPDATED M Marry, the widow of police custodial death victim N Dharmendran, wants his interrogators charged for murder and hung to death. Breaking down several times at a packed press conference held with her lawyer N Surendran, Marry was still emotional but clear-minded as to the circumstances surrounding her husband's suspicious death.

In particular, she berated officials from Prime Minister Najib Razak's department including newly appointed minister Paul Low for trying to cover up the worst facets of the disgusting case, which has once against cast the spotlight on brutality by the Malaysian police force, by now among the most notorious in the region for torturing and beating to death suspects thrown into lockups even for small crimes.

"I feel sad and ashamed as a Malaysian at what they have done to my husband," said an emotional M Marry, who wept as she spoke up for the father of her two-year-old son.

"My husband could not defend himself. They just beat him to death, cruelly, they beat him to death. And yet they are trying to waste time when it is so clear. What can be more clear than all these details," she said waving to the autopsy report that found 52 horrific injury marks on Dharmendran's body indicating severe and prolonged torture."

"And they are still free, the people who did this to my husband. If anyone murdered someone, we would straightaway be sent to the lockup. But these people are out having a good time. The people should be jailed, not transferred or anything, they don't qualify. As far as I am concerned, I want to see those who did this hanged, hanged to death."

"This is murder, you know. The police murdered him," Marry wept.

This is murder, this is murder

Indeed, despite pledges of reform, there has been little real progress in stemming police violence towards those in their power. While suspects of Indian descent have borne the brunt, custodial deaths have happened to other races in country. According to Surendran, this reflected a "systemic failure because the authorities could not be bothered" to stop the rot.

"Four years, I revealed the autopsy report for A Kugan at this very premise. At that point of time, I had hoped I would never have to do it ever again but 4 years later we have another that is just as bad as the Kugan case," Surendran said.

"Dharmendran was beaten over almost every inch of his body. Not one inch of his body was spared from beating. In this air-con room we are sitting in, we can only imagine the pain of what the man went through before he died. He had no hope, he was handcuffed, he could not escape, he was beaten to death. This was a man with hope, he had a wife, a two-year-old son and they took all that away from him."

The lawyer, who is also the MP for Padang Serai, had exposed the contents of Dharmendran's post-mortem report on Saturday. The autopsy had been conducted by a government hospital and the full report released only on Friday, May 31.

The 31-year-old Dharmendran, an employee of sewage treatment utility Indah Water, had been remanded since May 11 for suspected involvement in a fight. He was found dead in police custody on May 21. Police bigwigs including KL CID chief Ku Chin Wah had suggested he died due to a heart attack or from some form of chest complications.

However, the autopsy report performed by Dr Siew Sheue Feng, the forensics expert from Hospital Kuala Lumpur, was conclusive in stating that it was otherwise.

"There was no significant natural disease found in his body that could have caused or contributed to his death at that particular moment in time. Post-mortem examination revealed he sustained multiple blunt force trauma in his body. These injuries were caused by blunt objects and the wounds were relatively fresh. No defensive wound was identified in the body of the deceased. The overall pattern of these injuries is neither self-inflicted nor accidental in nature," the summary and conclusion of Dr Siew's report stated.

Handcuffed, tortured with staples, every inch of his body was beaten up

Dharmendran's family want also want Prime Minister Najib Razak to make a public explanation to the Malaysian public as to why a citizen taken into remand by the police force had been found "with staples in his ears and beating marks all over his body".

"With this post-mortem report, there is enough evidence to bring murder charges . 4 policemen have been transferred to desk duty. This is a joke. They must be arrested and charged immediately. And by immediately, I mean by today, by this hour," said Surendran.

"PM must explain. This is Gestapo-style torture. You can come and give condolences. But family is not looking for condolences. Family is only asking for one thing from the government - arrest and charge the culprits involved for murder. Why is that so difficult?"

Surendran pointed out that the police had already received a copy of the report by 11am on Friday, May 31.

"But why have the police not arrested anyone? I would have thought they would have rushed to make arrests. Have they taken action? No? Desk duty!" said Surendran.

"This is the demand of every right thinking Malaysian, I also want to add when you look at the enormity of the report how ridiculous the Home Minister is when he talks about the EAIC. We are talking about murder, a non-bailable offense. Why are playing for time, why are the stalling why don't they want to give justice to this family."

The summary of the post-mortem report stated that:

1. The body was that if an adult Indian makl positively identified by his father-in-law as the above-named person.

2. There was no significant natural disease found in his body that could have caused or contributed to his death at that particular moment in time.

3. Each of his external ear was still stapled with a metal staple.

4. Postmortem examination revealed he sustained multiple blunt force trauma on his body.

5. These injuries were caused by blunt objects and the wounds were relatively fresh.

6. Some of these injuries showed pattern of double 'tramline' pair; pair of superficial punctures within distance of 1 to 1.1cm, handcuff marks, and etc.

7. Internal dissection showed he had diffuse soft tissue injuries with subcutaneous haemorrhage.

8. The subcutaneous haemorrhage was more severe in both should regions, back of thorax and both lower limbs.

9. No defensive wound was identified on the body of the deceased.

10. The overall pattern of these injuries is neither self-inflicted nor accidental in nature.

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