Police claim the death in custody of a detainee being held at the Klang Selatan District police headquarters yesterday was due to a botched escape attempt.
According to Selangor police chief Arjunaidi Mohamed (above), 36-year-old Umar Faruq Abdullah @ Hemananthan had attempted to escape by jumping from the second floor of the building onto the first floor.
“While the investigating officer was escorting (Umar) from the office to his cell, the deceased pushed the investigating officer, then fled towards an open window and jumped.
“The deceased fell onto the concrete parapet between the first and second floor before falling onto a motorcycle in the parking lot,” Arjunaidi told a press conference at the Selangor police headquarters in Shah Alam today.
He said the fall caused injuries to Umar's face and skull and added that a post-mortem is expected to be conducted this evening.
Yesterday, Umar’s lawyer M Manoharan said that there was something "definitely not right" about the circumstances surrounding Umar’s death and that he would be filing a claim against the police and government over the matter.
According to Arjunaidi, Umar - who was jobless - was arrested by police on June 2 for allegedly stealing a gas tank and was remanded for investigation.
He said Umar's death is being investigated under Section 223 of the Penal Code for negligence by a public servant in allowing a detainee to escape from confinement.
The state police chief was also asked to respond to online comments that linked the death to police brutality.
“A person can give and share a comment or opinion but they have to be responsible for it.
“If the comment hurts other people or causes anger (and) a dissatisfied person files a report, we will then have to investigate (the report). That's how it goes,” Arjunaidi said.
He added that sometimes comments were made out of context by individuals who were not in the know.
“They do not know the true story yet they make comments. This is what dragged them into this. So, if they make a comment and if it hurts others, we will investigate. The law determines the process,” he said.
The Klang Selatan District police headquarters had police brutality and custodial death allegations surrounding it in 2017 following the death of detainee G Ganeshwaran.
Police later said there were no elements of foul play in the incident.
In 2019, a man with mental disabilities was allegedly tortured by police while being held at the same district headquarters over motorcycle theft cases. - Mkini
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