On 28 January 2015, the Coroner’s Court made a finding in the inquest into the death of Karuna Nithi that his death in Tampin police station was caused by a combination of unlawful acts and omissions by persons unknown.
This finding was based on the fact that the deceased was a healthy adult with no life-threatening diseases, but was found dead three days later with 49 external injuries. The Coroner had rejected the pathologist’s post-mortem report that claimed Karuna Nithi had died from ‘fatty change of the liver’.
For months this decision was met with no action from the authorities.
However, on 1 July 2015 we received a letter from the court that there was an application to reopen the inquest and to call more witnesses. This application was made by the DPP and despite strenuous objections from the lawyers, the Coroner allowed the inquest to be reopened with testimony from Dr. Mohd Shah bin Mahmood, Forensic Department of HKL. This testimony arose after the Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia convened an Inquiry Committee of forensic pathologists to discuss the outcome of the original inquest.
Today, the Coroner found that there was no new material evidence produced by Dr. Mohd Shah. Further, the Coroner found Dr. Mohd Shah and the Inquiry Committee’s Report to be unreliable or not credible. The Coroner was satisfied that the cause of Karuna Nithi’s death remains the same, that is, by a combination of unlawful acts and omissions by persons or persons unknown.
Read the full Verdict after Further Evidence here: