Hanoi police said at a press briefing Thursday that an autopsy found no evidence of "external forces" on a man who died in their custody earlier this week, but a family member said there were suspicious cuts and bruises.
Nguyen Quang Truong died Monday morning soon after he woke up trembling at a police station in Quoc Oai District, police said.
They took him to hospital but he died on the way.
Military medical officers conducted the postmortem in front of members of Truong’s family and they concluded that no use of physical force could be detected, police said at the conference.
They said there was damage in his heart, which suggested that he died of atherosclerosis, a disease in which arterial degeneration and cholesterol deposits on the inner surfaces of the arteries obstruct blood flow.
Cuong said there were bruises on his left leg and his right arm and small cuts below the knees. One of his fingers was broken.
Police arrested Truong on July 31 when they came to seize a house of his relative and he was there. A court order earlier required people staying in the house to leave and hand it over to another woman.
They said people in the family tried to fight the police, locking the door and throwing rocks at them.
Truong also helped them by pushing the officers out.
He was among five people detained and he was not allowed to see his family.
Hanoi police are checking camera footage and questioning people involved for more information.
They will investigate to determine if the arrest of Truong and his relatives followed protocols.