MELBOURNE: A Malaysian who overstayed his visa drowned in the Murray River in South Australia after police tried to subdue him with capsicum spray, an inquest in Adelaide was told.
Chan Wah Aun, 27, who was staying illegally near Adelaide, had been told by a friend to “just run away” when approached by the officers, The Australian newspaper reported.
Chan died on or about Sept 11, 2006 after he was pulled over for a random breath test outside Waikerie, 175km northeast of Adelaide.
Police questioned Chan, who had arrived in Australia from Malaysia in May of that year, and an immigration check showed he had overstayed his visa.
Chan had been working at a Waikerie meatworks, breaching his visa’s condition not to take up employment.
South Australian Coroner Mark Johns heard that Chan had been speaking on his mobile phone to a friend while at the random breath test unit, asking the friend if police would shoot him if he tried to run.
“If you get the chance to run, just run away,” the friend reportedly told Chan, saying that he would not be shot unless he was violent.
The court heard that Chan then struggled when police arrested him as an unlawful non-citizen.
Chan “became violent”, leading the police officers to use capsicum spray.
He broke away and escaped, running towards a cliff top by the river.
Nine days later, two men fishing found his body floating face down near the cliffs.
The coroner will deliver his findings at a later date. – Bernama
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