(Bernama) - The death of R. Gunasegaran who died in police custody on July 16 was not reported because the officer in charge forgot to do so, the Magistrates Court heard Thursday.
Cpl Norazman Mohamad, 45, said Sergeant Major Rajinder Singh was the officer in charge when the incident happened but he (Rajinder) should be blamed because he may have forgotten.
However, when cross-examined by counsel M. Visvanathan who represented the family of Gunasegaran, Norazman said he only expressed his opinion and did not blame Rajinder.
Norazman, the third witness in the case, however, agreed with the counsel that reporting the death was very important and should have been done.
He added that his duty was to record down reports given by other officers and that he normally made three or four copies and placed them at a designated section for officers who were on duty.
The ongoing inquest is to determine the cause of the 31-year-old Gunasegaran’s death. He was in police custody and collapsed while his thumbprint was being taken between 6.45pm to 7pm and was pronounced dead at 7.40pm in the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL).
Norazman, 44, said he did not take notice when Gunasegaran fainted when he was being detained at the Sentul police station because he was busy preparing drug tests reports of three other suspects at that time.
“I did not even look at the suspect when he fainted although the situation was chaotic because I wanted to finish the drug test reports of three suspects.
“No urine test was done on the victim and even only one thumb-print was recorded,” he said.
Earlier, HKL Medical Officer Dr Al Hilmi Saim, 32, told the court that when Gunasegaran was brought to the emergency department of the hospital, he was already dead.
“When I checked his pulse and heart beat, there was no indication that he was alive. I also checked his eyes for any responsive reaction but there was none,” said Dr Al Hilmi.
The inquest presided by Coroner Siti Shakirah Mohtarudin will continue on Jan 19.
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