Aussie authorities condemned for failing to notify inmate's family of fatal illness

CANBERRA, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- An Australian coroner has condemned the authorities for failing to notify the family of an indigenous man in custody that he was on his deathbed.

Kwementyaye Japaljarri, 34, died in December 2016 after 12 days in hospital while serving a five-month prison sentence for non-violent driving-related offences.

It was revealed after his death that Japaljarri's family was not informed by the relevant authorities that he was critically ill, thus preventing them from being with him during his last days.

Coroner Greg Cavanagh led an inquiry into the death, finding that Japaljarri had a long history of illness and that the medical care he was provided with was adequate.

However, Cavanagh said it would have been better for both Japaljarri and his family if they were able to be with him in hospital.

"There are obviously good security reasons why a family might not be notified of a prisoner being outside the prison," he said in his findings released on Thursday night.

"However, where the prisoner is in a serious condition, common sense and ordinary human compassion suggest that for the sake of the family and the prisoner, the family need to be notified."

Robyn Paton, who represented the family at the inquiry, said everyone who knew Japaljarri was shocked to learn of his death.

"We were all asking: what happened to him in prison? We had no idea that he had been in hospital. We had no idea why or how he had passed away ... I am upset the family was not told that he had been admitted to hospital," Paton told the inquiry.

"It makes me very sad that he wasn't with any family when he passed away or hadn't seen any family in hospital." Enditem