“ALL they wanted to do was serve their country as patriots but were instead subject to ragging or extreme bullying that led to their untimely death.”
Malaysians have become accustomed to such news popping up every so often.
This is the sad and alarming state of affairs that seems to be engulfing the armed forces with news of cadets or personnel in training being subjected to all sorts of unspeakable atrocities regularly making the rounds.
The latest episode involved the murder of navy cadet Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain seven years ago. The Court of Appeal recently ruled that the six perpetrators be sent to the gallows for their heinous crime.
This ruling was highlighted in a post on X (formerly Twitter) by user Nikhajar (@nikhajarr) who sought to bring attention to five other similar cases.
Some of the cases, according to Nikhajar, are on-going or had been concluded, suggesting that justice has not been satisfactorily dispensed in the latter cases.
The murder case of Allhyrhm Zulfarhan hs finally seen justice srved. Hwver, thre are several other bullying cases in military institutions tht hv nt received the same lvl of coverage. Tday,I highlight 5 such cases tht also dserve justice, some hv concluded n sme are still ongoing pic.twitter.com/mQyCBLx6EB
— Nikhajar (@nikhajarr) July 24, 2024
The poster shared details of these five cases on the thread with the ultimate hope that justice will be served in each of these cases so as to ensure that Zulfarhan did not die in vain given the inhumane torture with a steam iron that he was subject to prior to his death.
Case #1 – In 2020, Abdul Aziz Aznam, 20, a member of the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM), died in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Sultanah Nora Ismail Hospital (HSNI).
His death occurred after he allegedly fell from the third floor of a residential building at a military camp in Batu Pahat, Johor, on Aug 29, 2020.
Case #2 – In 2018, Amirul Nashriq Othman,19, also a National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM) like Zulfarhan – died suspiciously. Amirul’s father had reported that the bruises on his son’s chest were initially attributed to an accident involving a rock while drowning.
However, just two days before his death, Amirul had sent a photo claiming that the bruises on his body were inflicted by three senior students.
Case #3 – Navy cadet officer J. Soosaimanicckam tragically died on May 19, 2018 during his training at the KD Idris Shah naval base in Lumut, Perak.
The case gained significant attention due to allegations that he had been assaulted by a senior officer known as “Ariff” who sat on his stomach and slapping him repeatedly a day prior to Soosaimanicckam’s death.
Case #4 – In 2013, Asrup Raidin, a 27-year-old navy officer from Sabah died during a swimming training session at the lagoon area of the Pulau Terumbu Ubi Royal Malaysian Navy (TLDM) uniform station in Labuan, Sabah.
However, his death has become controversial due to circulated images showing bruises and burn marks, allegedly from cigarette butts. (Editor’s Note: The Court of Appeal has upheld the 25-year jail sentence against three former navy officers who were found guilty of causing Asrup’s death on Oct 26, 2022.)
Case #5 – Private Muhammad Faiz Harun, 26, who was a member of the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) died under suspicious circumstances on March 25, 2020 at the Queen Elizabeth I Hospital in Kota Kinabalu after suffering various injuries, including swelling on the brain and lost consciousness and.
Hix family has requested a thorough investigation to uncover the truth which has dragged on till today. – July 27, 2024
Main image credit: Nikhajar (@nikhajarr)/X
