Govt appeals to reverse ruling for gravedigger’s death in police custody

2026-03-26 - 04:31

The government has applied for leave to appeal a Court of Appeal ruling awarding Fadhelah Othman RM97,600 for death of her son, Fadzrin Zaidi, while in police custody in 2019. PUTRAJAYA: The government has turned to the Federal Court in a bid to absolve itself of liability for the death of a gravedigger who died in police custody seven years ago. In its application for leave to appeal, the government said it had framed two questions comprising novel constitutional and legal issues of public importance, being raised before the Federal Court for the first time. Lawyer M Visvanathan confirmed that the application, filed last month, was served on his legal firm as solicitors for Fadhelah Othman, the deceased’s mother. “We will be opposing the application,” he told FMT. In an affidavit supporting the government’s application, senior federal counsel Nur Ezdiani Roleb said the Court of Appeal ruling had raised legal issues of public interest which the apex court must review. She said the Court of Appeal had imposed a stringent duty of care on public authorities toward detainees, even in cases where individuals did not appear to be at risk of suicide. “The questions will clarify the legal position in Malaysia, taking into account recent developments in common law in the UK which the Federal Court has not finally decided on,” she said. In 2024, the Penang High Court found the police negligent for failing to prevent Fadzrin Zaidi, 29, from committing suicide while in custody. On Jan 26, a three-member Court of Appeal bench upheld the High Court’s finding of liability but partially allowed the government’s appeal by quashing the trial court’s award of RM50,000 in aggravated damages. The ruling reduced the damages awarded to Fadhelah for the death of her son to RM97,600, comprising RM57,600 for dependency, RM30,000 for bereavement, and RM10,000 in special damages. Delivering the verdict, Justice Lim Hock Leng said the three-member appeals court bench found no evidence of egregious conduct on the part of the police at the Kepala Batas police station to justify the award of aggravated damages. Lim also noted that Fadzrin had been held in the lock-up for two days before his death. He said the station’s policemen had breached their duty of care by failing to conduct regular patrols, which could have prevented the tragedy. Lim said that such patrols were expressly required under the Lock-Up Rules 1953. The judge also noted that no CCTV recordings of Fadzrin’s detention had been made available. “Only parts of it, as recorded on a mobile phone, were produced,” he said, adding that there appeared to be a deliberate withholding of evidence. As such, the High Court was entitled to draw an adverse inference under Section 114(g) of the Evidence Act 1950, the Court of Appeal said. Also on the panel hearing the appeal was Justice Azizul Azmi Adnan. Fadzrin was detained during a drug raid in 2019. He was found dead in his cell at the Kepala Batas police station two days later. His death certificate stated that the cause of death was consistent with hanging. Following an inquest, coroner Norsalha Hamzah ruled that Fadzrin had committed suicide, citing CCTV footage and testimony from nine witnesses. She said there were no criminal elements leading to his death, and that Fadzrin was likely ashamed to have been caught by the police as he was going to get married soon.