Malaysian Indian detainee died from police beating

A second post-mortem conducted on 22-year old suspected car thief A Kugan has revealed that he had been repeatedly beaten up and had multiple burn marks on his body.

An ethnic Indian man who died in police custody in Malaysia, had been repeatedly beaten up and had multiple burn marks on his body, a second post-mortem conducted after his family's request has revealed.

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The second autopsy carried out on the body of 22-year old suspected car thief A Kugan who died on January 20, contradicts the first report, which said the youth had died from fluid in his lungs.

The case hit headlines here after Kugan's family members refused to believe police reports that Kugan was not beaten up causing his death while in police custody.

The post-mortem, conducted by a pathologist from the Government run University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) at the request of the 22-year-old's family, also showed that he had multiple burn marks.

These V-shaped burn marks are believed to have been caused by a hot iron, Kugan's family lawyer N Surendran told reporters.

The first post-mortem only examined the body from the chest up; Surendran was quoted by local online reports as saying.

The second, who examined the entire body, found 42 other marks, burns and contusions from the sole of his feet right up to his head. The pathologist declared, based on the post-mortem, that Kugan was beaten so badly that his tissues broke down and his kidneys failed, Surendran said.