Witness to torture in a death in police custody case lodges report.

People die because their heart stopped by reason of an heart attack, a ruptured stomach ulcer, .... but the question that must be asked was whether torture escalated the death of the person causing the stomach ulcer to rupture or not...

The problem we have in Malaysia sometimes is that there are public servants, policemen, doctors, etc. who just choose to be truly honest. Many choose to 'defend' the police or the government from being implicated in a wrongdoing that resulted in death or torture... 

Why do they do it? Maybe, it is fear...of possible repercussions if your report/evidence implicated the government and/or some policeman or some MACC officer or... Is the fear real? Many believe it to be a justified fear Just look at how certain people can be above the law....Najib (Altantuya case), some former chief Minister of Melaka, ... Many have seen how the law and the system can be used against even the most powerful of enemies? Did they not send Lim Guan Eng to prison? Was not Kit Siang and Karpal Singh arrested under the ISA? Was not Anwar  himself charged tried for Sodomy...Corruption..convicted and had to languish in jail for so many years? Of course, look at what happened to K Selvach Santhiran.

 “What if he gets arrested and waylaid by the police for some other charges?” said Surendran, referring to the case of K Selvach Santhiran.

Selvach had testified at the inquest for R Gunasegaran - who had died in police custody - but was later arrested by the police without trial under the Dangerous Drugs Act.

He has been in detention since last October.

Thankfully for Malaysia, there still are some people who are brave enough to step forward, despite the risks, and make police reports and Statutory Declarations exposing wrong doings of the government, public servants and even policemen. 

But this is not enough, for Malaysian doctors, police persons and other public servants must also start to become brave and tell the whole truth... Remember, those who lie for the BN government or out of fear for the police, etc are really doing a greater evil of helping evil to continue to exist  -- and their 'lies' would likely kill another...and another. It is always best to root out the 'bad apples' in the police, government, etc ... and this will certainly need people to speak the truth..

One may have a stomach ulcer, and death may have been caused by a ruptured stomach ulcer that resulted in the acids, etc in the stomach spilling out and damaging other organs that will cause death. 

But, certainly being punched, kicked, etc especially in that region can help cause the stomach ulcer to rupture and cause death. Even if not punched in that particular area, the stress and trauma of being tortured can speed up the rupture. [Side question: We do have the equipment to do a gastroscopy in hospitals - and why is not used on a regular basis on patients - Early detection of stomach ulcer could result in proper treatment - and one will not die. But alas, why is the procedure not usually used on ordinary patients? Is it just the cost? Or just the attitude of the BN government that places little importance in ensuring poorer folks live longer?]

The witness who allegedly saw a man being beaten to death in a police lock-up has lodged a police report.

Accompanied by Lawyers for Liberty representatives N Surendran and Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, the witness, A Sargunan (right), lodged the report at the Dang Wangi district police station this afternoon.

In his police report, Sargunan, who is also victim M Krishnan's friend, said that they were in a mutual friend's house in Cheras when the police stormed in late at night on Jan 2.

The police allegedly made both of them lie on their stomachs, then started kicking and stomping on their backs with boots on.

They were taken to the Bukit Jalil police station for alleged drug-related offences.

Sargunan, a 34-year-old taxi driver, also said Krishnan had confided in him over how the police had beaten him up and showed him his bruises on his ribs in the lock-up.

“Krishnan said he was in extreme pain and could not breathe and then he started vomiting,” said Sargunan in his police report.

Over the four days that they were detained, Sargunan said that Krishnan had pleaded with the police to take him to hospital for treatment.

Sargunan claimed that Krishnan was instead dragged out of the lock-up and beaten up before being thrown back into the lock-up.

Krishnan died at the Bukit Jalil police lock-up last Friday.

While his family claimed that he had been assaulted - based on bruises and cuts on the body - the police and the hospital have claimed that he died due to a stomach ulcer.

Surendran had insisted that the police should allow the family to have a second autopsy done on Krishnan.

“They had lied to us, saying that we can have a second post-mortem on Krishnan only to renege on their words at the last minute, asking us to get a court order for it instead," he said.

“There is no reason for us not to have a second post-mortem unless they have something to hide."

He also claimed that the hospital is in cahoots with the police to pressure the family into taking the body back for the funeral.

He said the hospital had called Krishnan's widow this morning to ask her to remove the body “immediately” before they start imposing a storage charge of RM30 a day.

“They simply want to prolong the pain and mental anguish of the family,” he said.

Spectacle outside station

The event was not free of drama when Krishnan's friends and relatives converged in front of the police station in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, waiting for Sargunan to show up.

About 20 of them unfurled a banner saying 'Justice for the Death of Krishnan', while an equal number of police officers moved in to order the crowd to disperse.

After the brief stand-off and negotiations between the police officers and Subang MP R Sivarasa and Kapar MP S Manikavasagam, who were also there, the crowd was allowed to stay.

Sargunan arrived about an hour after the stipulated time, with Surendran saying that the former had gone into hiding for fear of being arrested by the police.

“What if he gets arrested and waylaid by the police for some other charges?” said Surendran, referring to the case of K Selvach Santhiran.

Selvach had testified at the inquest for R Gunasegaran - who had died in police custody - but was later arrested by the police without trial under the Dangerous Drugs Act.

He has been in detention since last October.- Malaysiakini, 11/1/2011, Witness of latest custodial death lodges report