MPs may get to view CCTV footage of Taiping prison riot, says Kula

 The deputy law and institutional reform minister says Cabinet approval is needed first, citing concerns over ongoing court cases.

Deputy law and institutional reform minister M Kulasegaran said MPs should have access to the video so they can carry out their check-and-balance role effectively. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

MPs may be allowed to view CCTV footage of the Taiping prison assault as early as next week, subject to Cabinet approval, said deputy law and institutional reform minister M Kulasegaran.

He said he hoped the Cabinet would decide soon to allow MPs to better understand what happened.

“In principle, MPs should be given access to appropriate information to enable them to carry out their check-and-balance functions effectively,” he said during his ministry’s winding-up speech on the debate on Suhakam’s 2024 annual report.

“However, this requires further consideration, including legal implications such as issues relating to sub judice and ongoing cases, as well as any other considerations,” he said.

Kulasegaran was responding to calls from Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka) and RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong) for all 222 MPs to be shown the footage.

The footage relates to a January 2025 incident in which about 60 wardens assaulted more than 100 inmates during a transfer between cell blocks, leaving one detainee, Gan Chin Eng, dead.

A Suhakam public inquiry concluded in May that CCTV evidence and witness testimony showed prison officers had falsified police reports to portray the inmates as the aggressors.

One warden has since been charged with culpable homicide, and five more were charged with causing injuries to inmates on July 3.

Khoo said the parliamentary special select committees on human rights and security had already viewed the footage, and that it contradicted the prison officers’ initial claim that there had been a riot.

“When we saw the actual video, there was no riot,” he said when interjecting the debate.

In response, Kulasegaran said he had also watched the video and was shocked by what he saw, adding that since the footage had already been shown to the two parliamentary committees, the government should consider allowing other MPs to view it, too.

He also praised Suhakam for acting quickly, saying its investigation had helped bring the footage to light and led to action against several people involved. - FMT