“I want justice for my son, and those responsible for his death must be punished accordingly. I cannot accept the verdict. I will not just stop here. I want justice for my son,” S Joseph, 70, was quoted as saying by The Star.

Earlier, coroner Ainul Shahrin Mohamad said she was unable to establish conclusively how cadet officer J Soosaimanicckam died while undergoing training in Lumut in 2018.

Ainul said the evidence showed Soosaimanicckam was unwell two days before his death on May 19, 2018, during which he had defecated in his pants and lost consciousness.

Soosaimanicckam was taken to the Lumut Armed Forces Hospital where he died.

Ainul said she was compelled to enter an open verdict because of the presence of “so many contradictory possibilities” in the evidence.

The coroner’s court in Ipoh, Perak, had been inquiring into the cause of death, which had previously been said to have been due to the accumulation of fluid in the lungs, medically described as “pulmonary oedema”.

The inquiry was told that Soosaimanicckam had been found leaning in the bathroom on the day of the incident.

The lawyers for the family, Mahajoth Singh and Zaid Malek, said they would likely consider filing an appeal against the verdict.