This was stated by Tamilasan Karapiah, who was detained along with Balamurugan, at the hearing conducted by the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) here.
The witness also said the officer had punched and kicked Balamurugan’s chest and legs while questioning him.
“But Bala did not scream.
“The questioning went on for several minutes.
“I was also beaten in the lockup,” he said.
Tamilasan said the same police officer had taken a bamboo stick and continuously knocked his head with it for about 30 minutes.
“The officer also took an orange hose and whacked the soles of my feet. They were hard swings. About five times.”
The EAIC hearing was held to determine the death of Balamurugan while in police custody during the early hours of Feb 8.
Tamilasan said he, Balamurugan and a juvenile, with the surname Ang, were detained about 7pm on Feb 6. They were handcuffed before being brought to the Bandar Baru Klang police station.
He said three groups of plainclothes police officers had come to the lockup, some of them from the Serious Crime Unit.
The first batch comprised four to five officers, the second batch, two officers and the third batch, another two officers.
“They asked me who I was and where I was from.
“I told them I lived with my employer and the car belongs to my employer, Balamurugan.
“I was slapped, kicked and punched.
“At the same time, they also questioned and beat Ang. He screamed that it was painful.”
He added that after the questioning, he and Balamurugan were taken to the Klang Utara district police headquarters where Balamurugan coughed blood several times.
Tamilasan said Balamurugan’s condition worsened after the interrogation process at Bandar Baru Klang police station.
“We were taken to Klang Utara. He was unwell.
“I had to help him to walk. In the car, to the Klang Utara station, he coughed blood. He coughed three times.
“His blood was on my hand as I was seated just next to him. I told the officers but one of them said ‘serves him right’.”
The next morning, Balamurugan, Tamilasan, Ang, who was earlier taken to Banting to facilitate another theft case, and another new suspect, Kanapathy, were taken to the Klang magistrate’s court for remand.
Tamilasan said Balamurugan’s health worsened as he could not sit and was lying on the bench.
“He could not drink water. He tried to drink but there was blood on the bottle. His lawyer showed it to the magistrate and the magistrate ordered Balamurugan to be released and taken to a hospital.
“But he was taken back to Klang Utara and placed in the lockup after a few hours of arriving there.
“We had to carry him into the lockup. He was not able to walk.”
He said once Balamurugan was in the lockup, all other six detainees (including Ang and Kanapathy) were taken to the Shah Alam central lockup.
“That was the last time I saw him,” Tamilasan said.
The next day, he learnt about Balamurugan’s death from another inmate who went to the Klang magistrate’s court.
During the first session last month, two pathologists had said Balamurugan died of blunt force trauma that could have triggered a heart attack that probably caused his death.
One of pathologists, Dr Siew Sheue Feng, said he found at least 20 blunt force trauma marks on the deceased’s body.
During the first four-day of sitting in May, 16 witnesses were called for questioning.
The second sitting started today and ends on Thursday.
Police officers present during the interrogation and from the Criminal Investigation Department were among those called as witnesses.