HE only had four more months left to the end of his two-year prison sentence, and had even optimistically asked his mother about the family’s Deepavali preparations this year.

But merely five days after M. Sooriakandhi’s last visit to her son, she was told her son died due to AIDS-related complications.

R. Kumar Rajah, 27, was due for release on Feb 13, 2013.

Now Sooriakandhi refuses to claim her son’s body from the Kajang Hospital until police and hospital authorities sanction a post-mortem on Kumar Rajah’s death as there had never been any medical reports indicating that he was HIV-positive.

Appearing teary-eyed at the Parliament today, Sooriakandhi said that she had obtained “information” from Kumar Rajah’s fellow inmates that her son actually died a day earlier than what was informed to her.

She was also told that his complaints of abdominal pain was not taking seriously by the hospital doctor.

Sooriakandhi was accompanied by several PKR leaders, including S. Jayathas, Subang MP R Sivarasa and PKR vice-president N Surendran who said: “At the moment the hospital is refusing to do the post-mortem until the police issues a form to allow for it.

“The police is refusing to give out the form and is asking the family to refer back to authorities,” he said, adding that the family’s only demand now is for a post-mortem to be conducted.

Kumar Rajah is believed to have been brought to the mortuary of the hospital at 4.40pm on Monday, but Sivarasa said that it took the magistrate almost a day to look at the dead body and declare that there was no foul play involved.

“Why did it take 24 hours for the magistrate to come forward?” Sivarasa asked.

According to a letter from the Prisons Department to Sooriakandhi, her son passed away due to AIDS-related complications in the hospital and not in the prison.

He was sentenced to his prison term in 2010 after being convicted for motorcycle theft. According to the family, he was working as a mechanic in a motorbike shop prior to being arrested.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein said he was not aware of the issue and that he would need to “check with the Prisons Department.”

He however did say that he could “not see why the post-mortem would not be allowed.”

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 – 13:36 by Ram Anand, KUALA LUMPUR, The Malay Mail