The wife of a former KeADILan member and reformasi supporter today filed a RM682,400 civil lawsuit against the police and government of Malaysia for the death of her husband while in police custody last year.

Housewife Suzana Md Aris named Inspector General of Police Norian Mai, Gombak OCPD Massari Hashim, Gombak Crime Division Chief Ishak Hussain and the government of Malaysia as the four defendants in the suit.

According to lawyer P. Uthayakumar who filed the 11-page writ of summons at the Kuala Lumpur High Court at 3.30pm today, the deceased, Mohd Anuar Sharip, 31, was allegedly beaten to death while in detention at the Selayang police lock-up on Aug 18, last year.

He said that the police stormed into Mohd Anuar's house in Batu Caves, Selangor at midnight on Aug 10.

"The police dragged him out without a warrant of arrest or any legal documents. No one knows the reason for the arrest till today," the pro-tem deputy secretary-general of Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia (Prim) B. Chandran said.

Mohd Anuar died eight days after he was arrested.

"The police left a written note at the door of his mother-in-law's house. It said: 'Please contact the Rawang police chief, your son Mohd Anuar bin Sharip is dead'," Chandran said.

He added that the police then informed Suzana that her husband's body was in the Kuala Lumpur Hospital. Upon rushing to the hospital, the family was, however, told that Mohd Anuar's body was not there.

They later found out that his body was taken to the Kuala Kubu Baru hospital for a post-mortem.

Chandran said that Prim, a splinter party of KeADILan, was approached by Suzana to help file the lawsuit.

According to Suzana, her husband was fit and healthy and did not suffer from any disease prior to the arrest.

A medical report from the Kuala Kubu Baru hospital stated that Mohd Anuar suffered from "multiple laceration lesion over the neck, chest, abdomen and back region ranging from one to two cm, and the lower part of his stomach had a clear 'blue-black' wound, which suggested that he was severely kicked or punched."

The cause of death on the death certificate was, however, stated as "lung congestion".

Suzana is suing the defendants for "loss of income, trespass, harassment, unlawful search, unlawful detention, pain and suffering, loss of consortium and bereavement" for her and her two sons, aged nine and three.

Uthayakumar, when contacted today, said that he was representing the bereaved family free of charge.

"I am doing this as a matter of principle of justice," he said.

Asked why he did not bring the case to the attention of the newly formed Human Rights Commission, Uthayakumar replied, "We might do it soon."

"What triggered us to file the suit today was that the police department refused to co-operate with us when approached. We had written to the Gombak OCPD seven times before this, requesting for relevant documents, but they said that we could not have it (documents) as it was with the DPP," he added.