A senior prisons department officer told a public inquiry probing alleged rights abuses at Taiping prison that five wardens were transferred out following the Jan 17 incident.
Perak prisons director Fayrouz Ahmad Zawawi said he was informed of the transfers by fellow officers. He did not reveal the identities of the reassigned officers.
He said he was aware a disciplinary committee had been set up to probe the officers allegedly involved, but clarified that he was not on it.
“They (disciplinary committee) rarely share the findings (with other senior officers),” he said.
A nine-minute video of the incident was then played to Fayrouz behind closed doors.
Fayrouz said he was seeing the video for the first time.
Inquiry chairman Hishamudin Yunus then asked him about a deputy director at the facility who was seen “doing nothing” to stop his subordinates from assaulting inmates.
Fayrouz said he could not be certain if the deputy director did anything to diffuse the situation.
Hishamudin: It had turned violent, and obviously (the alleged perpetrators) breached federal laws and (prisons department) standing orders. Shouldn’t the deputy director have taken action?
Fayrouz: As a senior (officer) he should have taken responsibility.
Fayrouz acknowledged that his subordinates might have “lost control of their emotions” during the incident, and said he would take steps to have them attend anger management courses.
“It was embarrassing and should not have happened,” Fayrouz admitted.
The Suhakam inquiry is investigating allegations that more than 100 inmates at the Taiping prison were assaulted by around 60 wardens during a relocation exercise from Hall B to Block E on Jan 17.
The inquiry, chaired by Hishamudin and commissioner Farah Nini Dusuki, is also examining claims that one inmate died and several others were injured as a result of the alleged abuse.
The inquiry is set to resume on Sept 10-12.
