Bentong custodial death not from coronavirus - Police

CORONAVIRUS | The detainee who died at the Bentong police station lock-up recently was not infected with coronavirus, Bentong district police said.

According to the district police chief Yusof Unis, this was determined after the body of the deceased, a 30-year-old man detained on April 2 for alleged theft, was sent to the Bentong Hospital for Covid-19 test.

The man had died at the station in the early morning of April 5 after reportedly suffering from shortness of breath.

“The body was sent to Bentong hospital for Covid-19 test and the result found that the victim was not infected with Covid-19,” Yusof told Malaysiakini.

A post-mortem subsequently conducted on April 6 was unable to determine the cause of death.

Police are awaiting results of a toxicology analyst from the chemical laboratory and as well as results of the analysis of tissue samples by the pathologists.

The autopsy was conducted by the forensic's department at Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan in Kuantan.

Police have classified the case as sudden death, for the time being, pending results of the tests.

It had been reported that police personnel on duty found the victim experiencing breathing difficulty at about 12.50am on Sunday and summoned for an ambulance.

However, the man is believed to have died by the time ambulance arrived and was pronounced dead at 1.10am.

Meanwhile human rights NGO Suaram had said the death raised worrying questions as to how the deceased was treated by the police during detention and has called for an inquest. - Mkini