While Malaysiakini focused on the suspicious death and the injuries on the body, The Star and NST chose to take a different mundane path. They focused on the issue of family members and concerned citizens barging into the mortuary to access the body. According to Selangor police chief, since no hospital staff were allowed into the room by the group, this can be considered as “tampering with the evidence”.

A group of about 50 people stormed the Serdang Hospital mortuary on Tuesday night and locked themselves inside for three hours with the body of a youth who had died earlier in police custody.

… The group had allegedly pushed out a medical assistant and his two staff before conducting their own checks on the body. They left the mortuary about 2.30am.

When the hospital staff went inside, they found that the clothes had been torn off the body. The medical assistant immediately lodged a police report.

… Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar questioned the motive of the group, saying it was tantamount to tampering with evidence.

“The investigating officer was not present nor was the doctor. What were they doing with the body?”

Hours after the group left the mortuary, photographs allegedly showing bruises on Kugan’s body were circulated on the Internet and among reporters.

“Do they want to see justice done or just hamper police investigations? Let us conduct the investigations first. Do not take the law into your own hands,” Khalid said, promising a fair and thorough probe.

In other words, is he saying that the blood and injuries may be purposely inflicted by the group in order to spoil the police’ name? Or perhaps lots of finger prints will be detected and can’t determine who actually killed the fellow?

In the Star article, lawyer Surendran says they only unbutton the deceased shirt and turned over the body.

An assistant medical officer from the hospital’s forensics department has lodged a report yesterday alleging that family members and unknown people had barged into the mortuary where Kugan’s body was kept.

In his report, the officer Mohamed Azha­ruddin Abdul Ghani claimed he and two staff were forced out of the room by the crowd that came to the hospital at about 11.30pm.

He claimed the family members and the 50-strong crowd left the mortuary at about 2.30am after they identified and examined the body.

DCP Khalid said when Mohamed Azharuddin went back into the cold room, he found the shirt Kugan was wearing had been ripped and torn and there was also blood spots on the floor.

Kugan’s family, too, lodged a report with the Subang Jaya police headquarters claiming that the police were responsible for his death.

The family’s lawyer, N. Surendran, refuted claims that the family had tampered with the body.

“All they did was unbutton his shirt and turn the body around to examine his injuries.”

I think with the way the police behave, public have every right to worry that the police themselves may tamper with the evidence to hide evidence of torture. Perhaps the family wanted to see for themselves the condition of the deceased before post-mortem is conducted to get a clear picture of the injuries.

The deceased may be a crook involved in car hijacking syndicate, but it does not mean he can be tortured to death.