Mohamud Mohammed Hassan's death in Cardiff investigated

Police are investigating a man's death hours after his release from custody.

Mohamud Mohammed Hassan was arrested at his Cardiff home on Friday on suspicion of breach of the peace but released without charge on Saturday morning.

The 24-year-old died on Saturday night and his family said he claimed he was assaulted in custody.

South Wales Police said it had so far found no evidence of excessive force or misconduct but has referred itself to the complaints watchdog.

It said the referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) was standard practice following a death after police contact.

In a statement, the force said Mr Hassan was arrested at his home in Newport Road in the Roath area of the city on Friday night and taken to Cardiff Bay police station.

He was released at 08:30 GMT on Saturday and officers returned to the property at about 22:30 following his death.

It added: "As part of the South Wales Police investigation CCTV and body-worn video has already been, and will continue to be, examined.

"This will assist in establishing and understanding the events that took place.

"Early findings by the force indicate no misconduct issues and no excessive force."

The force added it was aware of "extensive reporting on social media" but due to the on-going investigation and referral to the IOPC, it was unable to comment further.

A post-mortem examination is due to take place on Tuesday.

Mr Hassan's aunt Zainab Hassan said her nephew was "loving" and was due to become a father.

She said she saw him within one hour of his release.

"He was released on Saturday morning with lots of wounds on his body and lots of bruises," she said.

"He didn't have these wounds when he was arrested and when he came out of Cardiff Bay police station, he had them.

"Nothing we do is going to bring him back but we will not rest for a second until we have justice."

Solicitor Hilary Brown, director of Virgo Consultancy, said a complaint had been made to the IOPC, while the family would be seeking an independent pathologist report and called for an independent police force to investigate the issue.

"We want somebody to try to explain to us why a young, healthy man was arrested by South Wales Police with no apparent injuries to his body and as a result of being released from Cardiff Bay police station... he was badly marked with bruising and cuts, and within hours was dead," she said.

"We need somebody to explain to us whether there was a connection between the injuries he sustained either before being taken to Cardiff Bay police station or while at Cardiff Bay police station - did they play any part in his death.

"We want to know whether the allegations he made against officers of South Wales Police of being assaulted has contributed in any way to his demise."

An IOPC spokesman said of the police referral: "We are assessing the referral to determine whether the IOPC needs to be involved in an investigation."