S Balamurugan's family sues police over his 2017 death in custody

The family of S Balamurugan has filed a lawsuit against the police over his death in custody three years ago.

His Thai wife Natthanan Yoochomsuk and his brother S Balraj filed the writ of summons through law firm Daim & Gamany at the Kuala Lumpur High Court Registry on Feb 7.

On Jan 18, 2018, the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) found that the police had committed several serious breaches of conduct and abuses of power concerning the death of Balamurugan the year before.

Balamurugan was arrested and allegedly beaten at the Bandar Baru Klang police station on Feb 6, 2017, before he was taken to the Shah Alam centralised lock-up facility for a few hours and then sent for a remand hearing at a Klang magistrate's court in the morning.

The magistrate ordered that Balamurugan be released, but instead, he was allegedly held at the North Klang police district headquarters and was found dead in the early hours of Feb 8, 2017.

According to a copy of the cause papers sighted by Malaysiakini this afternoon, the papers named six defendants - four police officers, the inspector-general of police (whose name was not specified) and the government of Malaysia.

The four police officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Klang Utara district police headquarters are its investigating officer, its intelligence officer, the district CID’s chief and its 24-hour senior investigating officer.

The two plaintiffs seek general, aggravated, exemplary and vindicatory damages, as well as RM23,000 in special damages, damages to the family for loss from the death, and damages for the benefit of the deceased’s estate.

The duo also seeks a declaration that the defendants had with intention, without just cause and with malice, violated the deceased’s basic freedom under the Federal Constitution.

They seek eight percent annual interest from the date of filing of the suit to date of judgment, five percent interest from the date of judgment to the date of full settlement, cost, and any other relief deemed fit by the court.

Natthanan and Balraj are the administrators of Balamurugan’s estate.

According to the statement of claim, the two plaintiffs claimed that one of the defendants or other police officers had intentionally and without just cause committed assault and battery on Balamurugan while under detention, causing his death.

The duo alleged that in the alternative, the injuries and death of Balamurugan, as well as the resulting loss and damage, are caused by the defendants’ breach of duty.

The plaintiffs claimed furthermore or in the alternative that Balamurugan’s death was caused by the defendants’ breach of statutory duty under Section 3(3) of the Police Act 1967, among others.

Section 3(3) states that the police force “shall subject to this Act be employed in and throughout Malaysia (including the territorial waters thereof) for the maintenance of law and order, the preservation of the peace and security of Malaysia, the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension and prosecution of offenders and the collection of security intelligence”.

The plaintiffs also contended further or in the alternative that the defendants had arrested and detained the deceased without proper cause and in contravention of the law between Feb 6 and 8, 2017.

When contacted by Malaysiakini today, counsel Zaid Malek confirmed the filing of the suit and that the matter has been fixed for e-review case management tomorrow.

E-review is a form of online conferencing which allows court officials and legal practitioners to conduct case management without needing to meet face-to-face on court premises.

According to a copy of a letter from the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ Civil Division to the Kuala Lumpur High Court dated May 4, the division is acting for all six defendants in the matter. - Mkini