Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) and the Higher Education Ministry have been urged to take responsibility for student S Vinosiny’s death.
The Student Progressive Front UUM (SPFUUM) said the two must pay attention to campus safety issues, take proactive preventative measures and inspect and maintain campus facilities on a regular basis.
“It is undeniable that many facilities on the UUM campus are outdated and rarely maintained. This has increased safety risks to students.
“However, UUM appears to be trying to ‘sweep the problem under the carpet’ and has once issued a gag order forbidding students from discussing the case in an attempt to evade responsibility,” SPFUUM said in a statement yesterday.
The 20-year-old student died in her room at UUM’s campus in Sintok, Kedah on May 21 last year.
The university apologised to Vinosiny’s family on May 31 last year and vowed full cooperation to find out the truth.
Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin has also repeated several times that his ministry is concerned about campus safety, but the student group was not convinced.
They pointed to his parliamentary written reply recently on the police investigation into the case having not been completed even though nine months have passed.
“We are very concerned about the Higher Education Ministry’s commitment to guarantee student safety,” they said.
They also pointed out another incident on the UUM campus in July 2021 where a fire broke out suspected to be caused by a short circuit.
The problem is not just in UUM as many public universities have outdated facilities, they added.
“The Higher Education Ministry and the universities should provide a safe and conducive campus learning environment for students.
“The ministry should stop selling cheap promises and ensure that all higher education institutes immediately implement safety measures set by the ministry,” SPFUUM said.
Cause of death
On Feb 17, police confirmed that Vinosiny died due to electrocution.
Kedah police chief Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad noted that the deceased had indications of myocardial fibrosis, a condition which increased her risk of experiencing heart rhythm disorder that is fatal when coupled with a low voltage electric shock.
SPFUUM said if there had not been an electrical current leak in the dormitory room, Vinosiny’s incident would not have happened.
According to the forensic doctor, there were clear burn marks on her face and right hand, which the student group claimed indicates that the electric current she suffered was not likely to be low voltage.
SPFUUM also questioned the police’s professionalism in this case, as the autopsy report confirmed the cause of death a day after the incident but the police delayed releasing the report until this year.
This would have led to more students being exposed to dangerous risks over the period, the group said.
The student group said they also support Vinosiny’s family in filing a civil action against the negligent parties in this case, namely UUM, the government, the police and the attorney-general.
They say this is important not only to demand justice for the deceased but also as a warning to those responsible to prevent such incidents from happening again.
“SPFUUM promise to continue to stand in solidarity with the family of the deceased until justice is done,” they said. - Mkini
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