Malaysia Crime Watch

4 March 2009
Petaling Jaya

Pathologist Dr Prashant N. Samberkar, from the University Malaya Medical Centre, has completed the second post-mortem on car theft suspect A. Kugan. The procedure was requested by the suspect’s family after they had suspected that the 22-year-old man had actually died from being repeatedly beaten.

The results of the post-mortem found multiple v-shaped burn marks on the man’s back believed to have been caused by a hot iron. Kugan’s family lawyer, N. Surendran, said compared to the first report which counted only three injuries from the chest up, the second found 42 other bruises and burns.

The report also described intensive haemorrhage in several internal organs such as the gall bladder, pancreas, adrenal glands and inside his skull. Kugan’s stomach was empty at the time of his death, suggesting that he was starved during his six days of police interrogation.

The doctor suspected that Kugan’s injuries caused his muscle tissues to break down, also known as rhabdomyolysis, which then led to the production of myoglobin. As myoglobin entered back into his blood stream and to his kidneys, Kugan may have died from acute kidney failure.

Surendran believed that from the discovery of the injuries, the assailants would have known that Kugan would had died from them, indicating the intention for murder.

Kugan’s family is expecting a toxicology report from Australia to determine if drugs were given to Kugan before his death. Meanwhile, Surendran would submit the second post-mortem report to Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail at his office in Putrajaya today at 2:30pm.

The Star Online – Lawyer: Autopsy shows Kugan beaten to death
<URL:http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/3/4/nation/3399637&sec=nation>

New Straits Times Online – Beaten, branded in police custody
<URL:http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/National/2495385/Article/index_html>

MCW – Kugan’s Death: Re-classified as Murder, Officers Re-assigned
<URL:http://malaysiacrimewatch.lokety.com/kugans-death-re-classfied-as-murder-officers-re-assigned/>

Technorati Tags: malaysia crime, malaysia, crime, petaling jaya, a kugan, post mortem, university malaya medical centre, car theft, murder, haemorrhage, rhabdomyolysis, myoglobin, kidney failure, death

4 March 2009
Balik Pulau

65-year-old Tan Kim Huah was allegedly attacked last Saturday night by her maid at her apartment in Sungai Ara and was later hospitalised with swollen eyes and bruises on her arms.

The elderly victim, who has dementia, was at home alone with the 35-year-old maid at the time. Her 35-year-old son, Lim Cheng San, found the victim’s injuries the next morning when he visited her and confronted the maid.

He claimed that the maid explained that Tan’s swollen eyes were caused by some ointment that she applied on her eyes.

Lim consequently lodged a report at the Bayan Lepas police station that day. The doctor who treated Tan at a private hospital said that her swollen eyes might have been caused by a hit on the head with a blunt object.

Police have remanded the maid for 14 days to aid investigations and the case has been classified under causing hurt.

The Star Online – Cops nab maid over ‘attack’
<URL:http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/3/4/nation/3396709&sec=nation>

Technorati Tags: malaysia crime, malaysia, crime, balik pulau, sungai ara, maid, causing hurt

3 March 2009
New York

The US State Department has listed Malaysia as a destination for human trafficking in its 2008 Human Rights Report. It said that the victims are being trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced labour.

The victims were usually females from China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam for commercial sexual exploitation. The report attributed the trafficking cases to crime syndicates as well as employment agencies.

More than 100 victims have been rescued and repatriated in the country last year, according to reports collected from foreign embassies, NGOs, and government authorities.

Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said that Malaysia’s Anti-Human Trafficking law has been effective in fighting trafficking crimes. The US State Department noted that Malaysia was not involved in any politically motivated killings or abductions last year while it generally respected the human rights of its citizens.

However, the report showed that the Malaysian government had blocked access to some web sites and arresting several outspoken online individuals, such as Malaysia Today’s Raja Petra Kamarudin, for alleged sedition.

The Star Online – Malaysia a destination for human trafficking, says US
<URL:http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/3/3/nation/3379860&sec=nation>

Technorati Tags: malaysia crime, malaysia, crime, us state department, human trafficking, human rights, sexual exploitation, forced labour, prostitution