Three cops charged with murder of detainee Dharmendran
(The Star) – Three policemen were charged in the Magistrate’s Court here Wednesday with causing the death of detainee N. Dhamendran in lock-up.
The accused – Sjn Jaffri Jaafar, 44, Kpl Mohd Nahar Abd Rahman, 45, and Kpl Mohd Haswadi Zamri Shaari, 32 – confirmed that they understood the charges, although no plea was recorded.
The three with one other still at large are accused of colluding to cause the death of Dhamendran.
The men, who were dressed in plain clothes, black jackets and jeans, were charged.
The lawyers for the were Datuk Hazman Ahmad, Datuk Baljit Singh Sidhu and Geethan Ram Vincent, respectively.
Under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, the three face the gallows if convicted.
Magistrate Nur A’minatul Mardiah Md Nor fixed July 9 for mention to hand in documents, including the chemist’s and post mortem reports.
The courtroom was packed with relatives of the deceased and reporters.
Lawyers N. Surendran and Latheefa Koya held a watching brief for the family of the deceased.
City CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ku Chin Wah was also present during the proceedings.
Confusion arose when the courtroom allocated was changed twice, resulting in the crowds of people in the public gallery to have to move between different courtrooms.
Dhamendran’s wife Marry Mariya Susay told reporters said she was satisfied that the suspects had been charged.
“Why did they try to cover this up, saying he suffocated, saying he had a heart attack.
“Now the coroner’s report is out, only then are they taking action,” she said.
Earlier Wednesday, Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said in a statement that police personnel who were allegedly involved in the death of detainee Dhamendran, 31, would be charged in the afternoon with murder.
He said the dedicated task force established by the Inspector-General of Police to investigate the matter completed its investigation and submitted the relevant investigation papers to the A-G’s Chambers on Monday.
“Based on the evidence gathered through the investigation, I have decided to proffer a murder charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code against the police personnel involved.
“The police personnel concerned are to be indicted in court this afternoon, June 5, 2013,” he added.
He said although the events involved were regrettable, the swift police action on the matter was nonetheless commendable.
Dhamendran was found dead in his cell while in police custody at the D9 Branch Lock-Up at the Kuala Lumpur Contingent Headquarters (IPK Kuala Lumpur) on May 21.
He had been arrested on May 11 on suspicion of attempted murder involving firearms and held under remand from May 12 until his death.
Based on the post mortem examination conducted at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital on May 22, the cause of death was determined to be “diffused soft tissue injuries due to multiple blunt force trauma”.
