Custody death branded murder

POLICE have classified as murder the death of a man detained in connection with one of Malaysia's boldest bank robberies.

The dead man, Lee Quat Leong, a 42-year-old air-conditioner mechanic, was in custody to help the police with their inquiries into a break-in at a branch of the Maybank Finance company in March.

Thieves crawled through a tunnel, which they had constructed over several weeks, and broke into the firm's strongroom, where they emptied 700 safe deposit boxes and escaped with valuables worth an estimated M$30 million (HK$90 million).

Announcing the classification of the death as murder, Inspector-General of Police Abdul Rahim Nor promised a 'fair and thorough investigation to identify the perpetrators of the crime, even if they turn out to be police officers'.

Mr Rahim's statement came after Karpal Singh, a lawyer engaged by Lee's widow, disclosed that a police death certificate stated the cause of death was internal bleeding 'consistent with blunt trauma to most parts of the body'.

After visiting the mortuary with the deceased's brother, Mr Singh said they had seen bruises on Lee's body and had 'no doubt that he had been beaten in police custody'.