Coroners should decide cause of death in custody, not cops: Edict

The police have no prerogative to decide the cause of a death in custody, stressed the NGO Eliminating Deaths and Abuse in Custody (Edict).

In a statement, Edict said that it is for the coroners to decide the cause of a death in custody as stipulated in Section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

This was in response to Kuala Lumpur police chief Mazlan Lazim's statement yesterday that there were no signs of foul play in the death of Nepali national Dhan Bahdur at the Jinjang lockup.

The 26-year-old man was supposed to be remanded there from May 27 to June 10 but died on May 31.

Edict urged the authorities to allow coroners to inspect the bodies of those who have died in custody.

"We call upon Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat to rescind (former chief justice Richard) Malanjum's directive and require instead for the coroner to inspect in situ the bodies of those who die in custody.

"We further call upon the Inspector General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador, to take the necessary actions to ensure that coroners are not locked out of the first stages of investigation and that investigations are done thoroughly," it said.

According to Edict, Malanjum had issued a directive effective March 8, 2019, for the coroner to view the body in situ only if the investigating officer considers it necessary.

"Edict is shocked by that stipulation. We call upon the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh to advise whether that directive is still in force.

"We recognise that if it is, all coroners are bound to abide by it."

The autopsy and laboratory reports of Bahdur's death are still pending.

The police yesterday classified the case as sudden death.

Mazlan had said that the deceased was arrested on May 27 for allegedly failing to show identification documents and allegedly violating conditions under the Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959 and the Private Agencies Act 1971.

The Private Agencies Act regulates the private security industry in Malaysia. - Mkini