[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – A lawyer who misappropriated clients’ money died while serving his sentence last year, about a week after his conviction.
Zaminder Singh Gill, 57, was sentenced to 27 months in jail on September 28 last year.
But on the morning of October 5, they found him in his cell at the Changi Prison Complex without a pulse. He was pronounced dead after being taken to Changi General Hospital (CGH).
On Wednesday (March 10), the coroner was told that Gill had a known history of heart disease and that he died of natural causes.
Addressing the court on the first day of the coroner’s investigation, State Attorney Derek Ee said doctors had evaluated Gill before he was placed in his cell and that no abnormalities were observed.
He said Gill’s condition had remained stable and he was deemed fit to serve his sentence.
Mr. Ee also told the court that video recordings from inside the prisons would be played during the investigation, and requested that only family members and relevant judicial officials be present when the videos were played for security reasons.
RS Bajwa, one of the three attorneys representing Gill’s family, said the closest relatives did not want to see the images because they found it too distressing.
State Coroner Kamala Ponnampalam ordered the videos to be shown behind closed doors, which means this is not open to the public, including the media.
[[nid:465270]]Gill was a former attorney for Hilborne Law and was convicted of five counts of breach of trust as an attorney for more than $ 20,000.
The charges related to five victims.
Ten other similar charges involving another $ 11,000 were considered during sentencing.
A police investigation officer, who was the first witness called to the stand Wednesday, said Gill had a known history of heart disease and hypertension.
The day before his death, Gill was examined by a prison doctor and found to have normal vital signs.
He was previously found to have abnormalities affecting the left side of his heart, but the doctor that day deemed him fit for discharge from medical care.
Gill was then issued a medical certificate for five days before being placed in his individual cell.
He was first placed in the cell on September 21 last year, while he was in pre-trial detention.
The investigating officer said the cell’s security camera footage showed Gill moving normally in his cell at 6:15 a.m. on Oct. 5.
[[nid:503792]]At 7.03am, the camera captured him lying on his back with an eye mask.
He did a few brief body movements before his left hand moved to his left chest area.
No further movements were observed shortly thereafter.
They found him without a pulse around 7:30 a.m. M. And prison officials had tried to resuscitate him before they took him to the CGH, where they pronounced him dead at 8:54 a.m. M.
The proceedings related to the case are expected to take place on March 18 in the forensic court.
This article was first published in The times of the strait. Permission is required for reproduction.
