Futsal player’s family hires detective to probe his death

 

Sean Jayabalan (second from left) with his family in happier times.

PETALING JAYA: When Saraswathy Apparu turned 68 on Monday, there were no celebrations, only tears.

“The only thing she did was cry from morning to night,” said her husband, Jayabalan G Subbiah.

Jayabalan and Saraswathy are the parents of futsal player Sean Jayabalan, who died last October, apparently in a car crash.

They have not been able to move on or celebrate family occasions because there are many unanswered questions about the death.

To try to get some answers, the family has employed a private investigator.

Jayabalan said the investigator was a friend who once served as an intelligence officer in the armed forces.

“I hope I can get some answers to my questions regarding his death, but I know it takes time,” he told FMT.

“It’s been very painful, waking up every morning in total despair.”

He said he sent numerous emails to Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz UKM (HCTM) director Dr Razman Jarmin with questions regarding events surrounding Sean’s death.

The first email was sent on Nov 27. It had 28 questions, among which were:

• Why was Sean sent to HCTM instead of Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL), given that HKL was nearer to the accident site?
• Why has HCTM refused to carry out a post mortem as requested by the police?

He also told Razman he regarded the stated cause of death – “multiple injuries consistent with motor vehicle incident with Covid-19” – as vague and misleading.

He said the director’s reply was unsatisfactory. A reply by HCTM to a subsequent query also did not answer the questions posed.

HCTM’s legal department subsequently sent an email to Jayabalan telling him that the death had been categorised as a police case and that he should contact the investigation officer in charge of the case. Jayabalan showed FMT this email.

“Regarding the post mortem report, you can contact our head of forensic unit of diagnostics laboratory services department to apply for the report (subject to the rules and policy of the department),” the HCTM email read.

Jayabalan said: “I’m very disappointed and frustrated. I’m just looking for answers to my questions, which they can’t even provide.”

Following that, he said, he wrote to Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.

“An officer in Bukit Aman called me to say they’re looking into the matter. She asked me for more details on the case and I have passed her all the necessary police reports.

“She said she would email me a response, but no timeline was given.”

He said he was still waiting. - FMT