The police are responsible for the death of C Sugumar while he was held in their custody, a coroner ruled today.

Coroner Rozi Bainun said in her verdict in the inquest into the death of Sugumar said there was unlawful omission by the police because they failed to send the injured man to hospital.

"The victim died of coronary artery disease (CAD) but I cannot rule out postural asphyxia as cause of death.

"The effect was hastened by the officers and policemen who committed unlawful omission by not sending the weakened deceased to a nearby hospital or clinic," Rozi said in the Coroner’s Court in Shah Alam today.

She added that it was up to the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the police to take necessary action, such as starting an investigation into Sugumar’s case under the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

She also noted in her verdict that Sugumar was arrested in a "brutal and unusual manner" as the inquest witnesses recalled seeing him being cuffed with two handcuffs as well as being stepped on by the police officers.

The 39-year-old security guard was alleged to have run amok in Kajang and was then apprehended by the police and passers-by who assumed him to be a criminal.

Sugumar was found dead with curry powder smeared on his face and his hands cuffed.

The police have since denied hitting Sugumar, and classified the case as “sudden death”.

According to eye-witnesses, Sugumar was pinned down by three policemen as they handcuffed him, with one policeman stepping on his head to pin it to the ground, while another sat on his buttocks and the their third held his legs.

Meanwhile, Sugumar's mother, K Manimegalai was clearly distraught over the verdict today.

Manimegalai lamented, between tears, that she had always believed in her son's innocence and that he had been wrongly attacked.

"They hit and killed my son, who was mentally ill. The policemen are telling lies," the 66-year-old claimed.

Manimegalai also called on the police to take immediate action by investigating those behind her youngest son’s death and hoped the necessary punishment would be meted out to those guilty in his death.

Lawyer Eric Paulsen ( on the right in picture ), who represented Sugumar's family, said they were happy with the verdict.

"We are pleased with today's verdict. We feel it's fair and they did a good job on the inquest," Paulsen told reporters outside the coroner’s court.

He also urged the police, as well as the Attorney-General’s Chambers, to revamp the standard operating procedure when arresting and handling suspects.

"With Sugumar's verdict today, there are now three recent Coroner's Court judgements that found the police responsible for custodial deaths. The other cases being P Chandran and P Karuna Nithi .

The Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) executive director called on the police to act on the matter immediately as it reflected badly on the force.

“The police must act on these judgments which are an indictment of the culture of impunity within the police force.

“Do not let them die in vain. The police must improve their standard operating procedures to prevent further deaths.

"Charge the persons responsible with criminal offence or at the very least subject them to disciplinary proceedings. That is the only way,” said Paulsen.

Sugumar has become part of the statistics for alleged police killings, including the famous custodial deaths of A Kugan, Karuna Nithi and most recently, Syed Mohd Azlan Syed Mohamad Nor .