
Lawyer Eric Paulsen claims that M. Thanaseelan died because the police didn’t allow him medical treatment while in custody. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, July 1, 2015.
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 — Selangor police could have prevented the custodial death of M. Thanaseelan if they had followed lock-up rules and provided him with necessary medical treatment, lawyers for his family said today.
According to Eric Paulsen and Melissa Sasidaran, the 43-year-old man had died of a “perforated gastric ulcer” last Saturday while under custody of the Bukit Sentosa police in Hulu Selangor.
The lawyers cited from a post-mortem report which noted the deceased had a history of chronic gastritis and would have shown symptoms of the condition for at least a week prior to death.
“It is clear from the lockup rules the police must care for the wellbeing of all detainees including informing the medical authorities of any illnesses or injuries affecting detainees.
“Further, the lockup rules provide for situations where a detainee may not be fit to be further detained for example, if the person is seriously ill and ought to be admitted for medical treatment as in this particular case,” they said in a joint statement. Read more