“All we want is the truth about what happened to my father.”
This was the plea from the son of an inmate at Taiping Prison in Perak, who had allegedly died from an abdominal injury, caused by blunt trauma, on Jan 17.
Speaking to Twentytwo13, the 19-year-old from Jelutong, Penang, said it has been 10 days since his father, Gan Chin Eng, 62, died, but there have been no updates by the authorities on the investigation into his father’s death.
“We just want the truth. We feel the authorities have not been honest with us. We were never told that my father had been beaten. Instead, we were told that his death could have been due to heart disease,” said the son, who requested anonymity.
On Saturday, Twentytwo13 was the first to report about the incident, adding that a post-mortem was carried out on Gan at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh. The coroner’s report said Gan had died due to an “abdominal injury caused by blunt trauma.” The article by Twentytwo13’s columnist and criminologist Datuk Dr P. Sundramoorthy quoted a police report lodged by Gan’s son in George Town, Penang.
Following Gan’s report, another report from the family member of another detainee on Jan 24, expressed concern for the safety of her loved one, also held at Taiping Prison. The police report was lodged in Kerian, Perak.
Sundramoorthy said it is understood that some family members of inmates detained at Taiping Prison have since been denied visitation privileges by the prison authorities. They were informed that the inmates were being “quarantined.” No further explanation was provided.
Today, Gan’s son told Twentytwo13 that his father had been held at Taiping Prison for the last four years on a drug-related offence.
“I saw my father over a month ago and he was fine,” said the son, the youngest of three siblings.
Asked if his father had shared or complained about anything out of the ordinary in Taiping Prison during their last meeting, the son said “no”.
“Before the incident, he was transferred to the Batu Gajah correctional facility. After a few days, he was brought back to Taiping. And then, this happened,” the son said.
“The Prison Department has not reached out to us since my father’s death,” he said.
Earlier today, the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) claimed that over 100 detainees, the majority of whom had been transferred from Batu Gajah correctional facility, had been beaten by more than 60 prison wardens. Urimai said this during a press conference in front of Taiping Prison.
The incident, according to Urimai chairman P. Ramasamy, led to Gan’s death.
“We were made to understand that the incident started after one detainee asked a warden if he could be moved to another place,” Ramasamy said.
“The detainees were later tear-gassed. Batons were used to hit them,” he claimed.
“This is a serious incident. Why is the Home Ministry keeping quiet about this?” he asked.
The Prison Department, in a statement this afternoon, said there was a “provocation” involving detainees who were transferred from the Batu Gajah correctional facility to Taiping Prison.
“A police report was lodged about the provocation, and an investigation is being conducted to determine the cause of the incident.
“The Prison Department will not compromise, and will take stern action against those responsible if there was carelessness or procedural weaknesses in carrying out duties.”
Police, meanwhile, confirmed they have recorded statements from 82 individuals, including two prison officers, in connection with the incident.
Acting Perak police chief, Deputy Commissioner Zulkafli Sariaat, was quoted as saying the other statements were recorded from prison detainees and prisoners. Zulkafli also said police had received numerous reports on the incident, including one, on Jan 17.
He added that the case is being investigated by the Taiping district police and had been brought to the attention of Bukit Aman, including the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Razarudin Husain, and Bukit Aman’s Criminal Investigation Department director, Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain.
