IPOH: The High Court today awarded RM560,000 in compensation to a mother whose son died in prison just hours before he was due to be released in 2017.

R. Siva, 30, had served an eight-month jail sentence for theft at Tapah prison.

On the day he was supposed to return home, his family instead received a shocking call, not to collect him, but to claim his body from the hospital.

The court found that prison and police authorities had failed to properly safeguard Siva's health and wellbeing. He had been healthy upon entering prison, but something had gone seriously wrong during his incarceration.

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Judicial commissioner Moses Susayan said the authorities had not only neglected Siva's basic rights, such as access to medical care and proper nutrition, but also failed to inform his family of his deteriorating condition.

"On the day of his release, a brother of the deceased was instead instructed to go to Tapah Hospital to collect his body. The Tapah prison authorities failed to notify the family of Siva's condition.

"There was a suppression of information. Despite having the family's contact details, the prison authorities did not inform them of his worsening health.

"In this case, there was systemic failure and medical neglect. The defendants' own witnesses admitted to a dereliction of duty," he said.

The court awarded Siva's mother, R. Muniamah, damages for the pain and suffering caused by her son's death, including RM200,000 for misconduct by officials, RM300,000 for emotional distress, and RM10,000 for bereavement.

She was also awarded RM38,400 for loss of support, RM15,500 in special damages, and RM70,000 in legal costs, to be paid by the government.

Siva died on March 20, 2017, the same day he was to be released after serving his sentence.

Muniamah had sued 13 parties, including prison and police officers, as well as the federal government, alleging they were responsible for his death due to negligence.

While a coroner had previously ruled that Siva died of natural causes, the High Court held that his death could have been prevented had he received appropriate care.

Muniamah named 13 defendants in her suit, including Tapah prison officers, police personnel and the government, citing negligence, breach of statutory duty and misfeasance in public office.

She was represented by lawyers M. Visvanathan, V. Sanjay Nathan and Pushan Qin Nathan. Senior federal counsel Siti Aishah Ramlan and Siti Norashikin Hassanor appeared for the government.