Coroner Sazlina Shafie said the police failed to properly monitor G Jestus Kevin, who was sick when he was arrested.

And Kevin’s condition worsened when he was placed in a cell together with other inmates.

“He was assaulted while in the cell and under the care and control of the police.

“A post-mortem report revealed he died of blunt force trauma, cardiomyopathy and liver steatosis,” she said in her findings, which was read out today in the Kuantan coroner’s court.

Sazlina also said Kevin was unattended after he was beaten up.

She said Kevin could have been saved if the police had brought him to the hospital to be treated for meningoencephalitis – the inflammation of the membranes of the brain and the adjoining cerebral tissue.

Instead, she said, he was placed in a cell together with other detainees.

“Based on the findings, I declare that a known person/persons were responsible for his death.”

Deputy public prosecutor Azizah Ahmad assisted in the inquiry while lawyers M Visvanathan and Sanjay Visvanathan held a watching brief on behalf of Kevin’s family.

Kevin and another suspect, M Pathmarajah, were arrested by the police for theft on April 2, 2020, and were remanded for four days pending investigation.

Kevin became delirious at around 9pm, two days after his arrest, while being held in a cell.

Two years ago, Kevin’s father, A Ganaprakasam filed a negligence suit against the police and government after his 30-year-old son died in the police lockup in Bentong, Pahang.

He also brought an action for the tort of misfeasance by the police.

In the suit filed in the Kuantan High Court, Ganaprakasam, who is also the administrator of his son’s estate, is seeking damages and compensation for loss of earnings and support.

The plaintiff named 13 policemen, the Bentong police chief, the inspector-general of police and the government as defendants.

He has also named two inmates, Shaiful Zakaria and Azril Yusof, who are said to have caused his son’s death.