PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has awarded close to RM300,000 in damages to the family of factory worker Kamarulnizam Ismail, who died in Tapah prison seven years ago.

       A three-man bench chaired by Justice Yaacob Md Sam fixed RM290,800 as the total amount with regards to an appeal filed by Rahaya Salleh, the mother of the deceased, for compensation over her son’s death in police custody.

       In the unanimous decision, the appellate court awarded RM250,000 in general damages for negligence and RM40,800 in damages for dependency claim to the family.

       The court also ordered for the respondents – the police, prison officials and the government – to pay the amount inclusive of interest of 4% for general damages and 5% for the dependency claim as well as costs of RM5,000.

       Justice Ahmad Nasfy Yasin, who read the decision, said Kamarulnizam had gone through a long series of detention and interrogation processes that would certainly have led to the deterioration of his health.

       The judge said while in prison, the deceased complained of stomach pain and suffered from diarrhoea and was prescribed medicine.

       “He was found unconscious on March 8, 2014. His illness of lung infection could not have just developed overnight, he was deprived of any medical attention.

       “For those reasons, we are of the view that the sum of RM250,000 is appropriate to be awarded as general damages for negligence,” Justice Ahmad Nasfy said in a Zoom proceeding on Wednesday (July 7).

       Justice M. Gunalan also sat on the bench.

       Rahaya was represented by lawyers M. Visvanathan, R. Karnan and V. Sanjay Nathan while the respondents were represented by Senior Federal Counsel Azizan Md Arshad, Andi Razali Jaya A. Dadi and Mohd Ashraf Abd Hamid.

       In August 2019, the Ipoh High Court allowed the lawsuit filed by the deceased's family against the government and 12 others over Kamarulnizam's death.

       The court held that the defendants were liable for negligence and awarded the family RM100,000 for his unlawful detention, RM50,000 for misfeasance of public office, RM2,000 for funeral expenses and RM12,000 in legal costs.

       The court however denied the family’s dependency claim.

       On June 24, the Court of Appeal allowed the government’s appeal to set aside the Ipoh High Court’s decision to award the family RM100,000 damages for unlawful detention and RM50,000 for misfeasance in public office.

       However, the court on that day increased the legal costs awarded by the lower court from RM12,000 to RM30,000 and allowed RM10,000 in special damages to be awarded to the family.

       Prior to his death, Kamarulnizam, 39, was arrested in March 2014 and later charged at the Magistrate's Court in Penang for possessing stolen goods.

       He pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 29 of the Minor Offences Act 1955 and was given a fine of RM800 in default 14 days' jail.

       Kamarulnizam chose to serve the jail term as he needed the money to repair his car although his elderly father showed up at the court to settle the fine.

       He was found dead in Tapah prison in Perak on March 8, 2014.

       According to news reports, post-mortem results showed that Kamarulnizam had died of a lung infection.

       His 71-year-old mother Rahaya filed the lawsuit against the respondents on March 3, 2017, and sought for dependency claim, misfeasance of public office, aggravated, exemplary and special damages over her son's death.