Family members of a Pakistani national urged that an inquest be held into the death of a 63-year-old man in custody at Sungai Buloh Prison on Feb 17.
Lawyer M Visvanathan, who represented the family, said the circumstances of Rafi Ullah's death raised questions over the implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) by the Malaysian Prisons Department.
"There are allegations made by family members against the authorities in relation to the treatment of the victim in prison.
"He was an asylum seeker who was arrested by the police on Sept 27 after allegedly being involved in a fight with a neighbour.
"He was later sent to Tapah Prison before being transferred to Sungai Buloh Prison while awaiting trial.
"However, he died on Feb 17 and his family was not informed," Visvanathan told the media this morning.
He called for an explanation, saying that there were injuries on the hands and feet of the deceased who allegedly died of a heart attack.
"The prison guards who are in charge should provide an explanation regarding the injuries on the body of the deceased. Was the prison aware the victim has an injury that led to his death?
"Therefore, we call for an inquest into this passing," Visvanathan said at a press conference in Petaling Jaya.
He added that he would write a letter to Attorney-General Idrus Harun to hold an inquest as soon as possible.
Two NGOs - Eliminating Death and Domestic Abuse (EDICT) and the North-South Initiative (NSI) - organised the press conference which was also attended by the man's family members.
According to the deceased's brother-in-law, who is only known as Azhar, the prison did not inform the family of Rafi's death.
"Family members only found out about his death on Feb 19 when another Pakistani national told them that his body had been sent to Sungai Buloh Hospital.
"We were not allowed to see him until now," said Visvanathan, who was assisted by a translator because the family members could not speak Malay or English.
The lawyer explained that at first family members were not allowed to see his body.
"The autopsy request by the family was initially rejected after police claimed that the deceased was positive for Covid-19.
"But, in the end, the autopsy was held yesterday at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, after the family lodged a police report urging for an autopsy," he said.
Preliminary results of the autopsy found that he died of a heart attack and there were also injuries to his hands and feet, added Visvanathan.
"Therefore, family members call on the government to investigate the matter in accordance with Section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Code (which governs voluntarily causing hurt)" he said.
'Seem to be common news in Malaysia'
Meanwhile, Tenaganita executive director Glorene Das lamented that deaths and torture in police custody or detention camps seem to be common news in Malaysia.
"It is devastating and heartbreaking knowing another human being is dead, this time a refugee from Pakistan.
"In the course of our work with marginalised communities, we have received many reports of sudden death of migrants and refugees over the years, but no follow-ups come through even when reports are filed.
"Many of these reports are overlooked because the person who died in the custody at most times, undocumented, so there is no importance given to further investigations," she said in a statement today.
Das said the authorities should take a good look at the case of Rafi whose cause of death was officially reported as Covid-19 first, then clarified as a heart attack, but yet there were unexplained bruises found on the deceased.
"This is the reality of many cases reported to us over the years.
"How many other deceased migrants, refugees and Malaysians have suffered incidents of physical violence under remand or during investigation?
"How much longer are we going to accept cases of death in custody as 'natural causes' or 'suicide' when there is a clear lack of transparency and accountability of the authorities?" she asked.
Das said the call for justice for Rafi and many others who have died in custody before him should never be silenced.
"Their lives on earth need to be respected, not ended by authorities who were supposedly protecting them.
"We continue to call for the enactment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to inquire into cases of deaths in custody to ensure police accountability and well as that of the Immigration Department in cases of migrants/foreigners and undocumented persons," she added. - Mkini
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