SHAH ALAM – The death of workshop supervisor Kannadasan Veerasamy on November 19, 2021, has been ruled as a suicide as there were no elements of foul play involved.
Coroner Rasyihah Ghazali based her findings, delivered today, on 19 inquest witnesses’ testimonies, including those from the deceased’s co-workers and boss.
She said witnesses testified that the deceased did not ask for any help during the fire, and he did not want to leave the store when the fire broke out and as the co-workers were attempting to put out the fire while waiting for help to arrive.
“A witness testified that the deceased were in the storeroom of the workshop, counting stocks before their boss (also a witness) went into the room. However, the boss was not carrying anything and the witness did not hear any sound come from the room.
“While the fifth inquest witness, which was the deceased’s boss, testified that he had heard a loud bang noise before seeing a man fully ablaze and run out from the workshop.
“Witnesses also said that the deceased stayed put in the burning room, in fact, he had gone further back into the room, indicating that he did not want to be saved at the time.
“Post-mortem also showed that the deceased was still alive in the first few minutes of the fire, and that he had died due to inhalation of fumes.
“Nobody was criminally involved (in the fire incident) and the deceased had burned himself to the point of his death,” she said.
She also noted that at the time of the incident, the deceased was facing mountains of money troubles. This included having been caught misappropriating RM57,000 from his workplace.
“The deceased confessed that he had misappropriated the funds to his boss, and promised his boss to repay the funds within a month. The promise was inked in an agreement.
“He also borrowed some RM19,000 in cash from his friends, and his co-workers testified that the deceased has debts with the pawn shop, resulting in him working overtime to gain more money.”
She also said that traces of petrol were found on the deceased’s body and a lighter was recovered from the scene. However, she said witnesses testified that there was no flammable material stored in the room where the deceased was last seen.
“The witnesses also said that usually, the deceased would have kept his phone in his pocket and his bag in the office. However, on the day of the incident, his bag and phone were kept in his car and the car was unlocked.
“The police had also found a suicide note where the handwriting was similar to the deceased’s.
“However, the signature could not be confirmed to be the deceased.”
Veerasamy had died in a tragic fire incident on November 19 two years ago at a workshop in Bukit Puchong. The police at the time had ruled that his death was a suicide.
However, his family felt something was amiss regarding the manner of his death.
Deputy public prosecution Siti Nabilah Abdul Rashid appeared as inquest conducting officer, while the family was represented by lawyer S. Vinesh.
Vinesh told reporters after today’s proceeding that the family were shocked by the court’s decision and that they needed time to process it. – December 22, 2023