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In a Zoom meeting with members of the media today, K Ganesh said he has received evidence that there was a fully functional CCTV camera in Ganapathy’s cell and the area leading to it.
“Since this was a death in custody and the police commission (the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission) has not been set up, I request the OCPD to invite me and the press to the station to see Ganapathy’s condition during his last days,” he said.
“What is wrong with seeing a detainee in lock-up? It is not against the law. They can easily show us the CCTV footage to refute that he was in any pain or had an injury.”
In an interview with FMT last week, Gombak police chief Arifai Tarawe promised transparency in the ongoing investigation into alleged abuse of Ganapathy while in police custody, stressing that such claims were not true.
After his arrest on Feb 24, Ganapathy was taken to Hospital Selayang four times between Feb 28 and March 7 for treatment for a condition caused by old wounds he sustained before he was arrested.
Arifai said a doctor who treated Ganapathy confirmed that he had necrotising fasciitis (a condition that affects the tissues of the leg) and had to have his right leg amputated. He said Ganapathy continued to receive treatment at the hospital but his health deteriorated. He died on April 18 after 43 days of treatment.
He said the post-mortem by Hospital Kuala Lumpur confirmed that Ganapathy died of necrotising fasciitis in the right lower limb, complicated by sepsis.
Ganesh, however, said today he was informed that Ganapathy was “not allowed to see a doctor” during his four trips to Hospital Selayang while under detention, saying his wounds were treated with a simple dressing.
He also said he received evidence that a month or so before his arrest by Gombak police on Feb 24, Ganapathy was remanded at the Shah Alam district police headquarters – where he was assaulted and lost a tooth.
The lawyer added that he had “sources” who are willing to testify in court about Ganapathy’s deteriorating condition while in custody and that he was not treated properly while at the hospital.
“I am asking the police to clarify or refute this information that we find to be credible,” he said.
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