Case Summary

The plaintiff who was the mother and the administratrix of the estate and dependant of Kugan a/l Ananthan, ('the deceased') claimed damages against the defendants for negligence and/or breach of statutory duties for unlawfully having killed the deceased. In was pleaded that the first defendant and/or other police personnel had wrongfully and intentionally assaulted and beat the deceased resulting in the death of the deceased whilst the deceased was detained by the police at the Taipan Police Station. The plaintiff also claimed for damages against the defendants for misfeasance of public office, assault and battery, false imprisonment, aggravated, exemplary, vindicatory and special damages. According to the plaintiff, the deceased was arrested by the police on 14 January 2009 and the defendants did not inform the plaintiff as to where the deceased was being held. On 20 January 2009 at or about 9am, the plaintiff was informed by a police officer that the deceased had died whilst in the police custody. On 21 January 2009 the first defendant, being the Chief Police Officer of Selangor at the material time had issued a false explanation to the media on the deceased's cause of death. He had alleged that 'the deceased had asked for a glass of water and then collapsed and died'. It was contended that the first defendant had made attempts to cover up the real cause of death of the deceased and/or issued statements calculated to exonerate the police from liability with the full knowledge that the death was unlawfully caused by the members of the police force. The body of the deceased bore extensive marks of beating and other severe physical trauma. The first autopsy showed that there were '22 categories of external wounds' and the cause of death was stated as 'pulmonary edema'. Upon the release of the first autopsy report, the first defendant again issued a public statement that the deceased had died 'due to water in lungs'. The first autopsy report was inconsistent with the external marks of abuse on the body of the deceased. The pathologist, Dr Abdul Karim bin Tajudin was subsequent