PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has granted the government and police leave to appeal a ruling that held them liable for the death of gravedigger Mohd Fadzrin Zaidi, who was found hanged in a police lock-up in 2019.
A three-member bench comprising Justices Datuk Nordin Hassan, Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali and Datuk Azmi Ariffin allowed the application on Wednesday (Sept 2) on two questions of law.
The first question concerns the principles governing the imposition of a duty of care. The second pertains to whether the nature of the criminal offence committed by a detainee is a factor that the court is required to take into consideration when applying the principle of reasonable foreseeability in cases of detainee suicide.
The same panel also granted leave to appeal in a separate case brought by the family of security guard M. Thinagaran, who had sued the government and two other parties for negligence over his death.
The two questions of law raised in Thinagaran's case were similar to those posed in Mohd Fadzrin's case.
In Mohd Fadzrin's case, the government and police sought leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal's decision of Jan 26 this year, which had affirmed the High Court's ruling holding them liable for his death.
Mohd Fadzrin, 29, was arrested during a drug raid on Nov 20, 2019 and remanded for seven days. He was detained at the Seberang Perai Utara police headquarters lock-up and was found hanged in his cell early the next day.
His mother, Fadhelah Othman, commenced proceedings against the police and the government at the George Town High Court in 2022.
In May 2024, the High Court found the police negligent in failing to prevent Mohd Fadzrin from taking his own life while in custody.
The court also held the government vicariously liable for that negligence and awarded Fadhelah RM147,600 in damages.
The Court of Appeal upheld the finding of liability but reduced the damages to RM97,600, comprising RM57,600 for loss of dependency, RM30,000 for pain and suffering and RM10,000 in special damages.
It also set aside the award of RM50,000 in aggravated damages.
In Thinagaran's case, his widow, R. Tenaswari and his father, K. Madhavan, as joint administrators of his estate, brought an action against the government, the Selangor maritime director and a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) investigating officer, claiming negligence, breach of statutory duty and misfeasance in public office.
Thinagaran, 31, was found dead in 2019 while detained at the MMEA lock-up in Klang, having hanged himself from the ceiling of his cell using a pair of pants.
The High Court allowed the negligence claim and awarded RM172,800 for loss of earnings, RM6,370 in special damages, RM5,000 for funeral expenses and RM10,000 for bereavement.
However, the Court of Appeal overturned that decision, prompting his family to seek leave to appeal to the Federal Court. – Bernama
