Heart disease cause of latest custodial death, say cops

 

Police said the man died while receiving treatment at Selayang Hospital after complaining of breathing difficulties. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: The cause of death of a 39-year-old man, who died in custody on Feb 14, has been identified as heart disease, police said today.

Bukit Aman integrity and standards compliance department director Azri Ahmad said the post-mortem results determined that the man died of coronary artery disease.

“The post-mortem was conducted at Kuala Lumpur Hospital and the death has been classified as sudden death,” he said in a statement today.

The man died while receiving treatment at Selayang Hospital after complaining of breathing difficulties.

He had been arrested for investigations into a drug case and was brought to the Gombak district police headquarters.

Azri said the criminal investigation unit of deaths in custody (USJKT) and the police integrity department would continue to investigate the case.

“We will investigate from all angles before submitting the results of the investigation to the coroner,” he said.

This would be the eighth death in custody this year.

Previously, Azri had confirmed that there had been seven cases of custodial deaths since January, and only one of them was found to involve criminal elements.

Of the seven cases, four died in lockups, two in hospital, and one occurred while on the way to hospital. - FMT