IPOH: The mother of a Reserve Officer Training Unit (Palapes) cadet, who died during training last Monday, wants her lawyer to be included in the task force investigating her son’s death.
Ummu Haiman Bee Daulatgun, 45, said she has appointed Datuk Naran Singh to represent the family in the investigation task force to ensure transparency in the probe into the death of her son, Syamsul Haris Shamsudin, 22.
“I want family members to also be involved in the task force. So, I have appointed Datuk Naran Singh as the family’s representative to join the task force to ensure that the investigation is transparent,” she said today.
Ummu Haiman said 15 delegates from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s (UTM) top management visited her home in Semenyih, Selangor, today to offer their condolences and contributions.
Among the delegates was a UTM lecturer, who is also the university’s Palapes deputy commandant, and was the first to inform her about Syamsul Haris’ death.
“They came today to check on me, offer words of encouragement and provide some contributions from UTM, as well as discuss matters related to the insurance that the family will receive.
“However, until now, I have not been visited or contacted by Palapes itself or the Defence Ministry since yesterday’s (Friday) press conference,” she said.
Earlier today, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin announced the formation of a task force comprising representatives from the Defence Ministry, Home Ministry and Higher Education Ministry to investigate her son’s death.
Yesterday, Ummu Haiman ,alongside Naran Singh at his office, called for an immediate investigation into her son’s death during Palapes training on July 28.
Syamsul Haris died while undergoing training at the Combat Inoculation Range in Pulada.
Ummu Haiman claimed that her son’s post mortem revealed severe injuries, which were inconsistent with the initial classification of his death as being caused by a seizure.
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