THE Coroner’s Court today declared an open verdict in the inquest into the death of a Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) cadet officer J. Soosaimanicckam.

Coroner Ainul Shahrin Mohamad ruled that the cause of Soosaimanicckam’s death was established as pulmonary oedema (fluid in the lungs).

He died during his training at KD Sultan Idris, Lumut naval base on May 19, 2018.

Ainul said the deceased reportedly defecated while taking a shower before losing consciousness and was rushed to the Lumut Military Hospital, where he was subsequently pronounced dead.

The decision was made in the presence of the deceased’s family members, namely his father, S. Joseph, 70, his brother, Charles Joseph, 37, and his cousin Vincent Lourders, 56, as well as the family’s lawyers, Zaid Malek and Mahajoth Singh.

Outside the court, Zaid said they would appeal to the Ipoh High Court.

The lawyer said there was a lot of evidence and unanswered questions, including what caused the “pulmonary oedema” given as the cause of death.

“The deceased entered the RMN training as a healthy person, passed the medical test, and was eligible to undergo the training, but one week after the training, he died.

“He was also not allowed to be treated early. Had he been treated early, he could have been saved,” Zaid said.

Meanwhile, the deceased’s father, Joseph, claimed that the head of the forensic medicine department of Seri Manjung Hospital, Dr S. Saravanan, who conducted the post-mortem and also appeared as a witness at the inquest, was not an expert and not qualified to determine the cause of death.

On May 19, 2018, the death of Soosaimanicckam, aged 27 at the time, was confirmed at the Lumut Military Hospital.

The following day, RMN, in a statement, said the graduate cadet officer suffered chest pain and shortness of breath at his hostel after undergoing his daily training and was sent to the hospital for treatment.

The victim was said to have been given respiratory support and treatment by the doctor on duty. However, he was pronounced dead at 1.45pm.

The deceased had reported to the naval base to undergo officer qualification training on May 12, 2018.

The then Manjung district police chief Muhammad Hanif Othman said the forensic medical report had ruled out foul play in the officer’s death and that he died from fluid in the lungs.

The case was classified as sudden death. – Bernama, June 16, 2023.