Nepali who ‘died’ in Jinjang police lock-up still alive, says embassy

The suspect died at the Jinjang police station lock-up in Kuala Lumpur. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: The Nepalese embassy in Kuala Lumpur today said that a man who died at the Jinjang lock-up in Kuala Lumpur recently was not a Nepali named Dhan Bahdur.

On June 2, Kuala Lumpur police chief Mazlan Lazim said a 37-year-old was detained on May 27. He was said to have died in his cell on May 31.

The police then showed the Nepalese embassy a photocopy of Bahdur’s passport which they said the deceased was carrying when he was arrested.

However, investigations by the embassy revealed that Bahdur — who used to work in Malaysia — was alive and well in Nepal.

“The person (Dhan Bahdur) is alive. I talked to him yesterday and he was very agitated after finding out what had happened,” the embassy’s second secretary (rescue & repatriation, jail & detention) Pratik Karki told FMT.

“I contacted the local (government) body where he lives in Nepal and they were also surprised with the news. They, too, confirmed he is alive.”

Karki said Bahdur worked in Malaysia from 2015 to 2018 as a security guard, during which time his passport might have been photocopied or altered without his knowledge.

Checks by the embassy with Bahdur’s friends in Malaysia revealed that Bahdur had left the country in 2018. They provided Karki with Bahdur’s number in Nepal.

Karki was able to verify that Bahdur had left Malaysia in 2018 after the latter sent him a photo of his passport and the passport pages with his exit stamp from Malaysia and his entry stamp into Nepal in February 2018.

“I have already informed the police about this and I hope they will investigate the matter and get back to us,” said Karki.

In a statement on June 2, police ruled out foul play in the deceased’s death, which has been classified as sudden death.

Eliminating Deaths and Abuse in Custody Together (EDICT), an NGO against deaths and abuse in custody, previously raised concerns over the death, stating that the body was not viewed in-situ or on-site by the coroner, as required by law.

The body was brought to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital for a post-mortem, where it remains. - FMT