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Five years ago yesterday, Jiwa Ramamorthy died in the lock-up of the Kulai Magistrate Court, Johor, due to head injuries.  He had been arrested on 11 April 2005 for an alleged robbery and was taken to the Senai police station for questioning.

It was reported that Jiwa Ramamorthy had sustained head injuries at the time of his arrest from being beaten by a vigilante group.  He was detained overnight in the Senai police station lock-up and then taken to the Kulai Magistrate Court later in the morning to be remanded.  He died while waiting in the lock-up of the Magistrate’s Court, approximately 6 to 10 hours after arrest.

It was reported that Jiwa Ramamorthy’s widow, V. Jagathiswary sued the Government and the police force for failing to take his injuries into account and failing to provide him with necessary medical treatment.  The outcome of this suit was not reported.

Despite the requirement that all custodial deaths be investigated by inquiries conducted pursuant to Chapter XXXII of the Criminal Procedure Code, it does not appear that an inquest has been conducted into Jiwa Ramamorthy’s death.

Every death in custody must be thoroughly and impartially investigated.  Jiwa Ramamorthy’s death must not be relegated to a mere statistic.
Based on the Royal Malaysia Police’s statistics, 85 persons died in police custody between 2003 and 2007 alone.

We express our heartfelt condolences to Jiwa Ramamorthy’s family and friends on this anniversary of his death.