Suhakam's findings highlight urgent prison, institutional reform

 

MP SPEAKS | The damning findings in a report of a Suhakam inquiry panel into a riot at Taiping Prison, which left one inmate dead, are serious and must be urgently addressed.

The causes of death of Gan Chin Eng, according to medical evidence tendered at the said inquiry, were abdominal Injury due to blunt trauma and coronary atherosclerosis, which was clearly caused when he was assaulted during the incident.

The findings further reveal that other inmates also suffered serious injuries, such as broken rib cages and eardrums, as a result of the assaults inflicted upon them by prison officers during the incident, yet no one has been charged over these serious assaults as of now.

It is pertinent to note that the inmates were not aggressive according to the report, which indicates that the attacks upon them were unprovoked, and there can be no doubt that answers must be given as to why no action has been taken against the perpetrators to date.

The matter, however, goes beyond only what transpired during the incident, as the transparency and competence of key institutions such as the police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers, as well as the underlying causes of the incident, cannot be ignored and must be seriously addressed to avoid similar incidents from recurring.

One such underlying cause is the issue of prison overcrowding, which the panel found contributed significantly to the incident, as Taiping Prison could not accommodate any more inmates at the time the victims were transferred there from the Batu Gajah Correctional Centre.

This resulted in prison officials deciding to place the affected inmates in Block E, which has been closed since 2021 and certified to be in urgent need of repairs and unfit to accommodate prisoners.

No longer fit

In November last year, Deputy Home Minister Shamsul Anuar Nasarah revealed in Parliament that the number of inmates in prisons nationwide had exceeded 84,000, surpassing the maximum capacity of 76,000.

Shamsul Anuar Nasarah

It is also clear from Suhakam’s findings that the prison is no longer fit to house inmates, as a new prison has been proposed to be built.

Given the findings and recommendations of Suhakam in its said report, immediate answers must be forthcoming on various issues, including but not limited to:

• Why have other prison officers not been charged to date over the serious assaults on the inmates in this incident?

• Why has no action been taken to date against those responsible for lodging false reports?

• Why has no action been taken against those responsible for the destruction of evidence in the case?

• Why has no disciplinary action been taken against the officers concerned to date?

The government must also address the broader issues of prison reform and transparency of key institutions, namely the police force, the Prison Department and the AGC, particularly on what steps are being taken to overcome prison overcrowding, whether the prison will be relocated to a newly constructed building and what steps are being taken to reduce excessive bureaucracy and red tape in investigation processes.

Suhakam’s findings and recommendations in its said reports are a timely reminder of the importance of institutional reforms, and the Madani government must take heed of its recommendations if its reform agenda is to be taken seriously. - Mkini

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RAMKARPAL SINGH is Bukit Gelugor MP.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.