Announcing the unanimous verdict, Justice Zaini Mazlan said the three-member bench found that M Thinagaran had been medically assessed and treated before his detention, and had not displayed suicidal tendencies.
Zaini said Thinagaran was monitored regularly and appeared normal and stable.
“Therefore, foreseeability, a critical element in establishing liability, was not proven,” he said when delivering the panel’s broad grounds of judgment in the case.
He said the High Court erred in law and fact when imposing liability on the three appellants – the Selangor maritime director, an investigating officer, and the government.
“The appellants’ appeal is accordingly allowed. The High Court’s decision on liability and damages is, therefore, set aside,” he said.
The bench, which also comprised Justices Ahmad Kamal Shahid and Nadzarin Wok Nordin, awarded costs of RM40,000 in favour of the government.
In its decision, the court acknowledged that the appellants owed Thinagaran a general duty of care while he was in custody, but said the High Court had erred in concluding that the risk of suicide was reasonably foreseeable.
Zaini said the facts of the case were similar to those in Sushila Rani Ramasamy v Kerajaan Malaysia & others, a recent case decided by another appeals court bench.
He said the bench in Sushila’s case had ruled that a suicide risk could only be considered specific and foreseeable if it was premised on the deceased’s prior history, with preventive measures justified only where such evidence was present.
The deceased’s widow, R Tenaswari, and father, K Madhavan, who are the joint administrators of Thinagaran’s estate, had sued the appellants for negligence, breach of statutory duty, and misfeasance in public office.
Last year, the Shah Alam High Court ruled that the appellants were negligent and awarded Tenaswari and Madhavan RM194,000 in damages, giving rise to the present appeal.
The facts of the case revealed that on Jan 9, 2019, MMEA officers, acting on intelligence, intercepted a suspicious vessel off the Selangor coast.
They found Thinagaran and another individual, R Inthiran, on board.
A search also uncovered packages later confirmed to contain drugs.
Both men were remanded for investigation and detained at MMEA’s office in Klang.
Thinagaran was sent to the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital earlier that day for treatment. He was diagnosed with a stress-related headache, and prescribed medication.
He was found dead four days later, hanging from the ceiling of his cell using a pair of pants provided to him while in custody.
Closed-circuit footage captured key moments leading up to his death, and a post-mortem confirmed the cause of death as hanging.
Counsel Manoharan Malayalam and P Subramaniam appeared for Tenaswari and Madhavan, while senior federal counsel Liew Horng Bin and Siti Syakimah Ibrahim and federal counsel Nuurzul Izzati Zulkipli represented the government.