Lawyers representing the family of custodial death victim Mohd Fadzrin Zaidi, 29, have reportedly cried foul after the coroner repeatedly postponed the inquest and withheld key documents.
According to a Free Malaysia Today report, this came after Sessions Court judge Norsalha Hamzah decided today that the documents - such as a sketch plan, pictures, CCTV footage, and other internal reports - cannot be served to the lawyers.
“This is as good as having an inquest all to yourself. If you cannot give documents, then this inquest is a sham.
“I believe this is the first time a court in this country has made such a ruling, and it shall never become precedent,” the lawyer M Visvanathan was quoted as saying outside the court in Georgetown.
“What happened in court today is not normal. In an inquest, all relevant documents must be served to us. Otherwise, the investigation would not have any meaning,” he said.
According to the report, Norsalha, who was sitting as the coroner for the inquest, had cited Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code in withholding the documents.
The provision lists the documents that prosecutors must provide to accused persons before a trial begins, as well as exceptions to the rule.
However, Visvanathan said Section 51A is not applicable in an inquest, and he would file a review of the coroner’s decision in the High Court immediately.
He also reportedly told a press conference together with Fadzrin’s family that the inquest has already been postponed four times – Jan 4, Jan 19, March 5, and today.
According to the report, Fadzrin hailed from Kampung Perlis, Butterworth, and worked as a gravedigger.
He was arrested for alleged drug possession with his friends on Nov 20, 2019, and was placed at the Seberang Perai Utara district police headquarters centralised lock-up on the next day after police obtained a five-day remand against him.
On Nov 22, the police declared him dead and claimed he had hanged himself. His death certificate states his cause of death as “consistent with hanging”.
Fadzrin’s father, Zaidi Mohd Din, 57, reportedly told the press conference that the police had arrested his son on three previous occasions over suspicions of drug offences.
Each time, however, his urine sample tested negative for drugs, and he was released.
“Fadzrin often got caught because he was often in bad company as his friends are known to dabble in drugs. But my son is not a drug user. He was jovial and respectful to his parents.
“For us to hear that he had hanged himself in a jail cell is unbelievable. I would believe it if he was suffering from depression. He was not,” he was quoted as saying, adding that he wants closure and finding out how his son died. - Mkini
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