KUALA LUMPUR: Police officers who were present in the interrogation room together with police suspects S Balamurugan, Ang Tian Kok and K Tamilasan said they did not witness any beatings during interrogation as alleged by juvenile Ang and Tamilasan.

Klang Utara district D9 police officer Inspector P Vicknes Waran, Bandar Baru Klang police station chief ASP Harun Abu Bakar, Corporal Mohd Freddy Sany Abdullah and Sargent Mohd Rizal Abdullah all denied witnessing any violence during interrogation but stressed that only shouts were hurled at the trio.

“I heard noises coming from the (interrogation) room. I entered and I asked what’s happening. There’s nothing and the trio were there answering questions from Inspector Muneswaran – a D9 officer from Klang Selatan district police headquarters,” said Insp Vicknes.

“I would not allow any violence to take place in my station,” said ASP Harun who is in charge of the station in Bandar Baru Klang.

“I did not witness any beatings nor did I see anybody get hit,” said both Mohd Freddy and Mohd Rizal during an inquiry at the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) headquarters today, which is investigation the death of Balamurugan in police custody earlier this year.

All four police officers who were questioned today said only Insp Muneswaran shouted at Balamurugan and the interrogation was done in a professional manner.

However, the officers’ account today contradicted with the accounts from Ang and Tamilasan who both said they were punched and kicked during the short interrogation process.

Tamilasan previously informed the hearing that Balamurugan was kicked and punched during a brief interrogation at the Bandar Baru Klang police station.

“Balamurugan tried to inform the police that the car was his but one officer got up and kicked him on the chest. He fell. Mohaneswaran shouted ”outside you’re the head, but inside I am.

“Balamurugan was slapped and punched on his ribs. Before he was hit, Ang and I were beaten by the officers. The used bamboo stick to hit my feet and hose pipe on my back.

“Ang was also hit and he pleaded to the officers to stop. The beatings happened on and off for half-an-hour. They asked questions and hit us,” said Tamilasan.

Dummy CCTVs

Meanwhile, ASP Harun divulged that the close circuit cameras (CCTV) placed in the police station were not able to record any movement.

The hearing was informed that the cameras were placed inside the station to prevent police officers from stealing.

“I am not sure who installed the CCTVs. When I was appointed as the chief, it was already there. Maybe the previous OCS installed it.

“The CCTVs cannot record but can only operate as a dummy. It is to prevent the officers from stealing. I heard previous officers did steal some materials from the station.

“The CCTVs were not from PDRM. It was there and the previous tenant operated a gambling den, it could be from the operators who left the building and left the CCTVs behind,” he revealed.

On Feb 11 this year, four days after Balamurugan’s death, North Klang police chief ACP Mohd Yusoff Mamat disclosed that more than 10 policemen at the North Klang district police headquarters were under investigation over the death.

Mohd Yusoff, however, said none of the policemen had been suspended as investigations were ongoing.

He said claims by certain quarters that there were bruises and injuries on the body of Balamurugan should not arise until the autopsy report was released from the hospital.

During the earlier hearing, a pathologist from the Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah suggested that the blunt force trauma sustained by Balamurugan during his detention could have triggered a heart attack that probably caused his death.

Dr Kartini Md Arif, who performed the first autopsy on Balamurugan, told an inquiry that the bruise marks found on Balamurugan’s body was caused by a blunt object but added that the injury itself was not serious enough to cause the death.

Another pathologist, Dr Siew Sheue Feng, concurred with Kartini’s finding and said he found 20 more blunt force trauma marks on the deceased’s body.

“I concur with the first pathologist. But we found more bruises

Resource : Berita Daily