Two Taiping prison wardens insisted that Gan Chin Eng, the inmate who died after he was allegedly assaulted, was still alive en route to the hospital.
Their statements contradict reports that Gan was pronounced dead on arrival.
Khairol Azmeer Ibrahim, 49, and Annuar Othman, 43, both sergeants, were responsible for sending Gan for medical assistance after he had collapsed while being relocated to another prison block on Jan 17.
“Uncle Gan was still moving in the van, I was trying to interact with him. He seemed half-conscious, and his movements reflected that too. I’m absolutely sure he was still alive then,” Annuar told the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) public inquiry.
Gan was rushed to the emergency room at the Taiping Hospital upon arrival.
He was officially declared dead about 20 minutes later after attempts to resuscitate him failed.
A post-mortem report stated the cause of death as “abdominal injury due to blunt trauma”.
‘Inmate suffered from heart disease’
Khairol claimed he gave the doctor a referral letter for Gan’s treatment, as well as his medical record from the prison’s clinic, when they arrived at the hospital.
The record states that Gan suffered from hypertension and diabetes. Khairol claimed that Gan also had heart disease.
When questioned why Gan’s heart disease was not listed in the inmate’s medical record, Khairol said he had heard of Gan’s condition from another prison guard.
Khairol’s testimony today contradicted the claim by Taiping Hospital’s doctors – made in a report – that they were not given Gan’s medical history.
The doctors claimed they had to call the prison’s clinic in order to learn more about Gan’s medical condition as they were trying to resuscitate him.
The inquiry, chaired by Suhakam chairman Hishamudin Yunus and commissioner Farah Nini Dusuki, is investigating allegations that more than 100 inmates were assaulted by around 60 prison wardens during a relocation exercise from Hall B to Block E of the Taiping prison on Jan 17.
The inquiry will resume next week.
