Pokok Sena inmate's death linked to poor medical care post-caning: Suhakam

Summary

• Suhakam commissioner Noor Aziah Awal says a Pokok Sena Prison inmate's death last year is linked to a lack of proper medical care.

• The suspected negligence is particularly concerning as the inmate was subjected to 12 strokes of the cane.

• Autopsy found pus-filled wounds spread to the groin area, with no antibiotics administered.

Suhakam has found merit in claims that a 49-year-old man incarcerated at the Pokok Sena Prison, Kedah, was not given sufficient medical care before his death last year.

The commission said its investigations revealed that Zaidi Abdul Hamid had not received proper medical attention, particularly after he was subjected to 12 lashes of the cane.

In reading out their findings, commissioner Noor Aziah Awal said Suhakam's analysis of the victim's autopsy report showed that an infection caused by the caning had caused Zaidi's wound to suffer copious amounts of pus.

While the infection had also spread to Zaidi's groin area, Aziah said the autopsy did not detect any signs of treatment in the area.

"The wounds on (Zaidi's) behind (where he was caned) also looked uncleaned and pus-filled, which can only happen if the injury is not attended to," she said at a press conference today.

Suhakam's suspicions that the caning wound had not been properly treated were confirmed by the autopsy's findings, which concluded that Zaidi's system contained no antibiotics, normally used to remedy pus.

The commission added that Zaidi, along with several other inmates, is believed not to have been placed in the prison's sickbay after they had undergone caning.

‘Inmates caring for inmates’

Shockingly, Suhakam also uncovered that inmates in the Pokok Sena Prison were often forced to receive medical care from their fellow inmates tasked to handle such duties.

The "working inmates", Aziah said, would not only perform high blood pressure and diabetic tests, but also clean wounds, occasionally without the presence of a medical assistant.

Noting that prisoners at the facility faced difficulty in obtaining medical care as they would have to adhere to a rotation schedule according to blocks, she said the quality of care given was subpar, with the prison's clinic frequently distributing "Panadol" (paracetamol).

As such, the commission recommended that an inquiry be conducted to establish whether there are criminal elements of negligence in Zaidi's death on Oct 7 last year.

Ban caning

Suhakam also urged the Home Ministry, the Health Ministry and the Prisons Department to conduct a review on the quality of healthcare services in the Pokok Sena Prison and other detention centres.

It also urged the government to ban caning as a punishment, in line with the commission's aim of promoting a non-violent approach to penalties.

It noted, however, that its correspondence with the relevant authorities on its findings has been left unanswered until now.

In October last year, Malaysiakini reported that Zaidi began experiencing severe bleeding a week after his caning, which alarmed his family, especially given that he suffers from high blood pressure.

Zaidi’s death certificate, sighted by Malaysiakini, listed the cause of death as “septic sequelae to blunt force trauma to the gluteal region.”

Zaidi was initially sentenced to death in 2015.

However, after the abolition of the mandatory death penalty in Malaysia, his sentence was revised on Sept 10 to 33 years in prison, along with 12 strokes of the cane.

'Blunt force trauma, classified sudden death': Family demands answers

Pannir gets last minute reprieve ahead of tomorrow's execution

Home Ministry cooperating with authorities on prison altercation probe

Bar calls for independent probe on Taiping Prison 'altercation'