Taiping Prison Officer Apologises For Assault On Inmates

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A prison officer issued an apology for physically assaulting inmates during a Jan 17 incident at Taiping Prison, attributing his actions to provocation by insults and threats.
Dzulizwar Bakir told a Suhakam inquiry into the matter that he had an emotional outburst after inmates hurled vulgarities and made threats against the officers’ families, including threats of sexual violence.
“(For) what happened during that incident, I sincerely apologise. I was angry, but I had no intention of injuring or hurting anyone,” Free Malaysia Today quoted Dzulizwar as saying.
He had been posted at the prison’s main gate during the incident, which allegedly involved the abuse of at least 100 inmates by around 60 wardens.
ADSIt allegedly resulted in the death of M Vijian, whose family later submitted a memorandum to Suhakam.
Preventing recurrence
The session today is the fourth of Suhakam’s public inquiry into the incident, intended to identify whether human rights violations occurred, the extent of such violations, as well as to determine accountability and recommended measures to prevent recurrence.
When asked on whether force was a suitable response to insults from the inmates, Dzulizwar admitted that it was inappropriate.
“If they insulted us, we could still accept it. But it involved family - I couldn’t stay quiet,” he said.
When Suhakam chairperson Hishamudin Yunus asked whether his actions could be justified under any circumstances, Dzulizwar also said no.
He claimed that the inmates’ behaviour arose from dissatisfaction after they had been transferred to another block, which had poorer living conditions.
This included dirty cells, bucket toilets and stricter rules.
Dzulizwar added that many of the inmates had been transferred from the Bukit Gajah facility, where they were accustomed to a more relaxed environment, and that the relocation may have sparked their defiance.
‘Minimal force’
In a separate report on Free Malaysia Today, another Taiping Prison officer - when shown CCTV videos of him beating inmates in the same incident - insisted that he had used “minimal force”.
However, Hairie Jumri admitted that the term was subjective, when asked whether he considered repetitive blows minimal force.
He said he was emotionally unstable at the time due to the inmates’ provocation.
When asked by Hishamudin whether he would not have done the same actions if he were stable and sane, Hairie agreed. - Mkini

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