SUHAKAM’s findings on the 17 January 2025 incident at Taiping Prison are damning, shameful and deeply worrying.
The inquiry found that police reports lodged against the detainees contained false information. SUHAKAM also found that excessive physical violence was inflicted by a large number of prison staff, while weapons were abused against detainees. In plain words, this was brutality behind prison walls.
The top management of Taiping Prison cannot escape responsibility for what appears to be a cover-up of the violence, false reporting and abuse of weapons that occurred under their watch.
I call for firm punishment against the top management and prison staff involved in the incident, including suspension, disciplinary action and criminal prosecution where offences are disclosed.
Malaysia cannot allow a prison to become a place where detainees are tortured, framed and silenced.