Five Taiping Prison wardens will be charged tomorrow for intentionally causing hurt to three inmates in a January 2023 incident.
KUALA LUMPUR: Five wardens from Taiping Prison will be charged at the Taiping Magistrate’s Court in Perak tomorrow with intentionally causing hurt to three inmates in an incident that occurred in January last year.
Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk M. Kumar said the five are scheduled to be charged at 9 am after the Attorney General’s Chambers returned the investigation papers with instructions to prosecute on June 29.
He said the decision followed a comprehensive investigation by the Bukit Aman CID and the Perak police contingent headquarters (IPK), in line with Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s directive following the incident, which also claimed the life of an inmate.
“One of the wardens will be charged under Section 323 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt, which carries a maximum penalty of one year’s imprisonment, a fine of up to RM2,000, or both upon conviction.
“Two others will face charges under the same section read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt with common intention,” he said in a statement today.
Kumar said the remaining two wardens will face the more serious charge of voluntarily causing hurt with a weapon under Section 324 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 for common intention.
“Upon conviction, they face up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine, whipping, or any two of those punishments,” he said.
Kumar added that another prison warden had already been charged at the Taiping Magistrate’s Court on Dec 19 last year under Section 304(b) of the Penal Code for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The offence carries a penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
He urged the public to refrain from speculation or distorting the facts of the case, as criminal proceedings are now underway.
