Kugan undergoes second post-mortem

PETALING JAYA, 25 Jan 2009: A second post-mortem was today conducted on A Kugan who died whilst in a lock-up at a police station in Subang Jaya.

Doctors at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) carried out the post-mortem at noon.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department T Murugiah said that Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had acceded to a request by Kugan’s family for a second post-mortem.

“Yesterday, Kugan’s family members told me that they encountered difficulty in conducting a second post-mortem.

“So, I called up Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai and Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Khalid Nordin to discuss the matter.

“After that, I contacted DPM (Najib) and was given the assurance that the second post-mortem would be conducted as requested by the family,” he told reporters at UMMC here today.

The post-mortem results are expected to be known about 10pm.

Murugiah said the deputy prime minister had expressed sympathy and concern over the incident.

“DPM has asked me to hand over the photographs (of Kugan’s body with injuries) to him,” he said.

Murugiah said the pathologists for the second post-mortem were appointed by the government and agreed upon by the public prosecutor and Najib.

“We are giving an assurance that the post-mortem will be transparent and there will be no cover-up. We view this matter seriously,” he added.

On the incident where Kugan’s family was said to have barged into the Serdang Hospital mortuary, he said the issue should not be blown out of proportion.

“Let me reiterate that Kugan’s family did not break the door (of the mortuary) but merely pleaded that they be allowed to see the body for nine hours.

“They were overcome with emotion at that time, so do not blame them,” he said.

He said the government and the police should not be blamed over the isolated incident as only a handful of people were involved.

“Only a handful of people had gone overboard, so do not make it a factor to blame the government. We will ensure that this kind of incident does not recur,” added the deputy minister.

On his plan to sue Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar, Murugiah said he would discuss the matter with his lawyer before taking any action.

“I am not happy over his statement recently. It has tarnished my reputation as a leader as I had merely gone to the ground to help a bereaved family.”

Khalid had said that Murugiah entered the mortuary during the incident.

Meanwhile, Kugan’s father, Ananthan, expressed relief that the family’s request for the second post-mortem was granted. — Bernama