Lawyer M Visvanathan told FMT that the coroner ruled that it was police negligence that led to his death.

“She said forensics had confirmed that Thanabalan had myocardial bridging — a heart condition, which normally won’t kill anyone on its own,” he said.

Coroner Rofiah Mohamad, in the judgment, added that the detainee had possibly died at the Shah Alam district police headquarters or on the way to the hospital because he was brought in dead.

The lawyer said Thanabalan was found to have come down with leptospirosis as a result of being exposed to rat urine. He said that due to Thanabalan’s heart disease, his condition then deteriorated.

“Police, knowing that this man was unwell, refused to send him to hospital for two days,” Visvanathan said.

The inquest into his death started in 2019. Thanabalan died in police custody on April 17, 2018 just before the 14th general election.

Thanabalan, who was allegedly detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act, died at Hospital Shah Alam after being rushed there from the Shah Alam police headquarters, where he had been held for 20 days.

His death led to questions by civil society groups on the police’s commitment to putting an end to custodial deaths.