Three Charged For Murder of N Dhamendran

Three police personnel were charged in a magistrate's court in Kuala Lumpur today with the murder of N Dhamendran while he was being held in their custody.However, no pleas were recorded from accused Jaffri Jaafar, 44, Mohd Nahar Abd Rahman, 45, and Mohd Haswadi Zamri Shaari, 32.
However, they acknowledged  the charge levelled against them in a courtroom packed with family members and relatives of Dhamendran (above, right), as well as reporters.

The three policemen were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code with committing murder with joint intent, together with another who is still at large, by causing the death of Dharmendran Narayanasamy.

They are accused of committing the offence between 12.20pm and 2.50pm on May 21, 2013, at the Special Investigations Division (D9), Level 7 of the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters.

The charge, which will be heard in the High Court, carries a mandatory death penalty upon conviction.

Magistrate Nur A'minatul Mardiah Md Nor set July 9 for mention and also for the submission of case documents, including the chemist’s and post-mortem reports.

Jaffri was represented by Hazman Ahmad, Mohd Nahar by Baljit Singh Sidhu while the third accused, Mohd Haswadi, was represented by Geethan Ram Vincent.

Lawyers N Surendran, Latheefa Koya, G Sivamalar and M Manogaran held a watching brief on behalf of the deceased’s family.

Multiple blunt force trauma

Earlier today, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail said in a statement that he had decided to “proffer a murder charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code against the police personnel involved”, based on evidence gathered through investigation.

“The police personnel concerned are to be indicted in court this afternoon.”According to Gani (left), the 31-year-old detainee was found dead in his cell while in police custody the at lock-up of the D9 branch of the Kuala Lumpur police contingent.

Dhamendran had been arrested on May 11 on suspicion of attempted murder involving firearms and had been held under remand from May 12 up to the time of his death.

Based on the post-mortem examination conducted at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital on May 22, the cause of death was determined to be "diffused soft tissue injuries due to multiple blunt force trauma".

"The AG's Chambers views this latest incident of a death of a detainee while in the custody of a law enforcement agency seriously, and is committed to dealing with any alleged wrongdoing leading to the death of Dhamendran in accordance with the law," Gani said.

"The AG's Chambers then directed the police to investigate the case and the dedicated task force established by the inspector-general of police completed its investigation and submitted the relevant investigation papers to the AG's Chambers on June 4.

"Although the events involved are regrettable, the swift action of the Royal Malaysian Police to address the death of Dhamendran is nonetheless commendable and reflects (its) commitment... to uphold the integrity of the institution of the Royal Malaysian Police."