PUTRAJAYA (July 7): The Court of Appeal has awarded RM250,000 in damages and RM40,800 for a dependency claim to the family of a prisoner who died while under custody at the Tapah prison seven years ago.

The three-member bench led by Justice Datuk Yaacob Md Sam also asked the government to pay RM5,000 in legal costs to the family of Kamarulnizam Ismail, who was found dead at the Tapah prison on March 8, 2014 due to a chest infection.

The two other judges in the unanimous decision delivered today via Zoom proceedings are Justices Datuk Ahmad Nasfy Yasin and Datuk M Gunalan.

The suit was brought by Kamarulnizam’s mother, who was represented by counsels M Visvanathan and Sanjay Nathan.

Senior federal counsels Azizan Md Arshad, Andi Razali Jaya A Dadi and Ashraf Abdul Hamid represented the government.

Last month, the Court of Appeal set aside the High Court awards of RM100,000 for unlawful detention and RM50,000 for misfeasance by the government to Kamarulnizam’s family.

However, the judges increased the legal costs awarded to the family from the lower court’s initial RM12, 000 to RM30,000 and allowed the family special damages of RM10,000.

Today’s hearing was to set the quantum for the negligence and dependency claim.

Kamarulnizam, 39, was initially remanded by the police four times for alleged break-in offences.

He was later charged and pleaded guilty under Section 29 of the Minor Offences Act 1957 for fraudulent possession of property.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to RM800 fine or two weeks' imprisonment. He chose to be imprisoned, despite his father wanting to pay the fine, and spent his term in prison before he was found dead.

Kamarulnizam, who worked as a general worker at a factory in Penang had helped support his parents. A total of 28 witnesses testified in the trial, where his death had been ruled as due to a chest infection while in custody.

Kamarulnizam's mother, Rahaya Salleh, had named the prison guards, several police officers, the Seberang Perai OCPD, the Tapah Prison director and the Malaysian government as defendants in the suit.