IPOH: The High Court has ruled that naval cadet officer J. Soosaimanicckam’s death in 2018 was a homicide, due to officers denying him medical treatment.
Justice Abdul Wahab Mohamed made the finding after he overturned an open verdict issued on June 16 last year by the Coroner’s Court inquiring into the death of Soosaimanicckam.
Justice Abdul Wahab found that Soosaimanicckam’s untimely death from pulmonary oedema, caused by leptospirosis, was linked to Navy officers not allowing the deceased to seek medical help. The deceased was 27 years old at the time.
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“Considering all the evidence before the inquest and the coroner’s limited judicial appreciation of them, this court therefore sets aside the findings of the ‘open verdict’ of the learned Coroner and substitutes it with ‘homicide.’
“Pursuant to Para (d) of the Chief Justice’s Direction No.2 and pursuant to Section 337 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), (an inquiry will be made) to decide who is the person criminally concerned in the cause of death,” he said.
Pursuit of justice: Soosaimanicckam’s father S. Joseph, 71 (second from left), brother Charles Joseph, 38 (left) and lawyer Zaid Malek (second from right) at the High Court in Ipoh, Perak.
In June last year, the Sessions Court, which sat as a Coroner’s Court, returned an open verdict in the inquest into the death of the cadet after coroner Ainul Shahrin Mohamad revealed that the cause of Soosaimanicckam’s death on May 19, 2018, was due to pulmonary oedema (swelling).
Based on reports, the coroner said the deceased had passed out and was rushed to the Lumut Armed Forces Hospital where he was confirmed dead.
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The Navy announced in a statement on May 20, 2018, that the deceased had complained of chest pains and breathing difficulty in his dormitory after completing his daily physical training at 12.20pm the day before.
He was then given breathing assistance and further treatment by a doctor on duty and was confirmed dead at 1.45pm on May 19, 2018.
