KUALA LUMPUR: S Balamurugan had been a police informer for six years before he died in custody but police officers who questioned him were not aware of this, a police officer said today.

Corporal Muhd Luqmanul Hakim Mokhtar revealed that Balamurugan was his informer for six years but said that he was not that close to Balamurugan.

“I knew him for six years. We were in contact but we were not so close,” he told an inquiry at the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) headquarters.

“I would call him if I needed some information on certain cases involving car theft,” said Luqmanul Hakim of the D4 Unit at the Klang Utara district police headquarters.

Luqmanul Hakim was also present in the interrogation room at the Bandar Baru Klang police station when Balamurugan and two others were being questioned there.

The officer said he could not get involved in the interrogation and could not inform other officers that Balamurugan was his informer as he had no authority to do so.

“I could not interfere because the ones handling (the case) were Insp Vicknes Waran and Insp Mohaneswaran.

“It would be not right for me to tell them that Balamurugan was my informer too,” he said.

Luqmanul Hakim denied that Balamurugan was beaten during the interrogation process.

Today, the sole police officer who was said to have punched and kicked detainees Balamurugan, K Tamilasan and juvenile Ang Tian Kok denied using any violent force to get a confession from the trio.

Mohaneswaran Thiagarajah, a D9 police officer from the Klang Selatan police headquarters, told the inquiry that he only shouted at Balamurugan.

“I did not hit anyone. I didn’t use any objects to hit Tamilasan or Ang Tian Kok. I shouted at Balamurugan, ‘What case are you involved in, old man?’ in Tamil,” said Mohaneswaran when grilled by commissioner Yaacob Md Sam.

Resource : Berita Daily