By Geraldine Tong, Malaysiakini

The police inspector accused of beating custodial death victim S Balamurugan and two other detainees has denied the allegations.

"Those are all lies... it is untrue," Inspector T Mohaneswaran said during the Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission (EAIC) public inquiry into Balamurugan's death in Putrajaya today.

He was asked about the allegations made by K Tamilarasan, who had been arrested at the same time as Balamurugan.

Tamilarasan, who was the 17th witness in the hearing, had claimed that Mohaneswaran had beaten him with a bamboo stick and rubber hose, as well as slapped Balamurugan's face and punched his chest for 10 minutes.

Tamilarasan had also claimed that Mohaneswaran had said to them in Tamil, "You are a (gangster) head outside, but I am the (gangster) head inside (the police station)".

The inspector denied he said this, alleging that he only said to Tamilarasan in Tamil, "You're brave to steal a car in Klang Utara and Klang Selatan".

"I did not show my authority... I didn't introduce myself (to the detainees)," Mohaneswaran added.

Meanwhile, his account of what happened the night Balamurugan was detained also contradicted the testimonies of the previous witnesses, including other police officers.

He denied having shouted at the three detainees and insisted that he only spent about 15 to 20 minutes at the Bandar Baru Klang police station, where the detainees were being held on Feb 6.

"Not true, I did not shout. I was only speaking in a loud voice," he said.

The only interaction he had with Balamurugan then, he said, was to ask the man what case he was involved in.

He also said he left the police station to head home around the same time as the other police officers, who were headed to Banting to arrest another suspect related to the same case.

Mohaneswaran is the 27th witness to be called to testify in the hearing. It is expected that 55 witnesses will be called in total. The hearing continues tomorrow.

Balamurugan was arrested on Feb 6 with Tamilarasan and a juvenile called Ang. His remand was rejected the next day but he was found dead at the North Klang police station lock-up in the early hours of Feb 8.