Former prisoner files suit over abuse at Sungai Buloh prison

Former driver V.Shashitheran, 35 (second from right) sued the government and eight others for negligence over the assault incident while he was remanded at the Sungai Buloh prison.With him are his lawyers, lead counsel N.Surendran (centre), Latheefa Koya (first from left) and Raul Lee Bhaskaran (first from right).

KUALA LUMPUR: A 35-year-old former driver is suing the director of the Sungai Buloh prison, the Government and seven others for negligence.

Speaking to media after filing the civil claim at the High Court registry on Friday, V. Shashitheran claimed that he did not receive assistance from five prison officers on duty near his cell when five prisoners assaulted him while he was held on remand for a minor drug offence on Dec 1, 2015.

He said that the five inmates attacked him over an issue of stolen food and added that he lost consciousness after an inmate stepped on the back of his neck.

Shashitheran added that he was only brought to a clinic at the prison approximately three hours after the incident, and that he was sent to Hospital Sungai Buloh and warded at its intensive care unit that night.

He said his mother was only notified of his injuries the following day and that she lodged a police report at the Sungai Pelong police station for further action.

Shashitheran’s lawyer, N. Surendran, added that his client had sustained damage to his spinal cord which caused him to lose control of his bodily functions and sensation on his skin.

Surendran said that Shashitheran had to seek medical treatment and has already spent RM18,000.

In his statement of claim, Shashitheran named the Sungai Buloh prison director, the Commissioner-General of Prisons, the Home Minister, the Government and five prison officers as defendants.

Shashitheran is seeking various damages and a declaration that the decision to place him in a cell with about 100 other inmates was in contradiction with Prisons Act 1995, the Prisons Regulations 2000 and the Federal Constitution.

Among others, he wants a declaration that the defendants violated their responsibilities to ensure his safety and welfare during his detention at the prison.