Apex court allows govt, police appeal over death-in-custody ruling
Two applications for leave – one by the government and the police, and the other by the family of a dead detainee - raise questions regarding the duty of care towards those held in custody.
On November 20, 2019, gravedigger Fadzrin Zaidi took his own life while in a police lock-up, prompting his mother Fadhelah Othman to file a negligence claim against the government and police. The High Court ruled in his mother's favor in May 2024, awarding her RM147,600 in damages. However, the Court of Appeal later reduced the damages to RM97,600.
Fadzrin's case involved questions of duty of care and reasonable foreseeability in detainee suicide cases. Similarly, the family of security guard M Thinagaran also sued the government and others for negligence over his 2019 death by suicide in an MMEA lock-up. The High Court initially awarded RM172,800 in damages, but the Court of Appeal overturned that decision.
Both Fadzrin's and Thinagaran's families sought leave to appeal to the Federal Court, where a three-member bench allowed their appeal on the two legal questions raised.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
