IPOH: The High Court here today overturned the open verdict by the Coroner's Court over the death of Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) cadet officer J. Soosaimanicckam, and reclassified it as homicide.
Judge Datuk Abdul Wahab Mohamed said the RMN officer responsible for the cadet's training had acted to deny the cadet medical treatment, which led to his eventual death.
"Considering all the evidence from the inquest into the cause of death, the High Court has overturned the coroner's open verdict and changed it to homicide.
"The cause of death was pulmonary edema caused by leptospirosis and that the unexpected death was directly due to the RMN officer responsible for the cadet's training denying the deceased medical treatment, according to paragraph (d) of the Chief Justice's Practice Direction No. 2 and under Section 337 of the Criminal Procedure Code to determine who was criminally involved in the cause of death," he said.
Abdul Wahab said the Coroner had erred in the earlier open verdict on the cause of Soosaimanicckam's death by not considering the available evidence.
Lawyer Zaid Malek, who represented Soosaimanicckam's family, said the family was grateful for the decision as they had been fighting for justice for the past six years.
"We are thankful for today's decision, as it finally identifies the party who should be held responsible for the cause of death," he said when met by reporters after the proceedings concluded.
Also present at the proceedings were the victim's father, S Joseph, 71, and brother, Charles Joseph, 38.
On June 16 last year, the Sessions Court sitting as the Coroner's Court issued an open verdict regarding the inquest to determine the cause of death of the graduate cadet officer.
At the time, Coroner Ainul Shahrin Mohamad decided that the cause of Soosaimanicckam's death, which occurred while he was undergoing training as a cadet officer at KD Sultan Idris, Lumut on May 19, 2018, was pulmonary edema.
Ainul Shahrin said according to the report, the deceased had defecated while taking a bath, then lost consciousness and was then rushed to the Lumut Armed Forces Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The RMN, in a press statement on May 20, 2018, reported that Soosaimanicckam had complained of chest pain and shortness of breath in his dormitory block after completing physical training at around 12.20pm.
The physical training was part of the daily routine for trainees.