Murder at Kepayan Prison: Two Prison staff seen punching inmate
Published on: Thursday, May 25, 2023
By: Jo Ann Mool
The witness further stated that at 7.55pm he reached Gemilang Block and the Section Chief at that time was Sergeant Farizan, Corporals Fazi, Mohd Saiful and wardens Barry and Shahryll and that they went to see the aggressive inmate after Farizan confirmed to him that there was an aggressive inmate from Kota Belud.
Kota Kinabalu: The High Court on Wednesday heard that two of the 10 prison personnel who were charged with murdering an inmate at the Central Prison here four years ago, were seen punching the inmate in a cell at the isolation block.
Prosecution’s 17th witness Danny Roland, a prison officer, who testified before Judge Datuk Christopher Chin Soo Yin, stated in his witness statement that he was on duty as Prison Security Unit Head at the Central Prison from 2pm to 9pm on Oct 2, 2019.
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Danny stated that at 7.40pm he was informed by the officer-in-charge, Richard, of an aggressive inmate at Gemilang Block and that he would patrol shortly.
On trial were Barry Jipmon, 30, Mohd Dzulfikri Mohd Safri, 28, Farizan Mokri, 40, Mohd Saiful Saidin, 34, Amran Yasik, 25, Ab Mutalib @ Talib Abd Rasul, 40, Zerry Maidin, 33, Tomy Momoh, 36, Shahryll Nazry Wan Sofian, 25, and Muhammad Fazi Lakui, 32.
They were all jointly accused of murdering Shainal Mukhtar, 36, in cell number 11, Gemilang Block, at the Kota Kinabalu Central Prison, Jalan Kepayan near here at 4.20pm, between Oct 2 and Oct 4, 2019.
The 10 accused had on Aug 24, 2020 claimed trial to the charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code carries a death penalty, on conviction.
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The witness further stated that at 7.55pm he reached Gemilang Block and the Section Chief at that time was Sergeant Farizan, Corporals Fazi, Mohd Saiful and wardens Barry and Shahryll and that they went to see the aggressive inmate after Farizan confirmed to him that there was an aggressive inmate from Kota Belud.
Danny stated that upon reaching cell number 11, he saw an inmate standing in front of the door wearing a white singlet and short pants.
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“He was alone in the cell,” said Danny, adding that he did ask the inmate what his problem was to which the inmate replied that he wanted tobacco.
Danny said he tricked the inmate by saying that he would give him tobacco if he sat quietly.
The inmate then leaned against the inner wall and was in good condition, said Danny.
“I then left, leaving my five staff. I saw Corporal Saiful as if he wanted to open the door of the cell since he was holding the cell key but I told him the inmate was okay.
No need to open,” said Danny.
The witness said he did not give any instructions to them and proceeded to the section chief’s office.
When reaching the office, he said he heard the phone ringing and at the same time he heard the noise of the cell gate being shaken and the voice of a person screaming loudly and repeatedly.
Danny said he was not sure if it was a scream of pain or not and did not know who screamed but guessed it might be from a prisoner.
He picked up the phone and heard Richard asking for the number of prisoners at Gemilang Zone and that he asked Richard to wait and he went out to find the personnel to report to him.
He went into Gemilang Zone and saw Corporal Fazi in front of the CCTV room and instructed him to report to Richard and they went back to the office but
he found out the telephone line had been cut.
He then instructed Corporal Fazi to call Richard to make the report while he went into the inmate’s cell to check on who was screaming and shaking the bars.
“When I reached cell number 11, I found that the door was open and the inmate in the cell was wearing a straitjacket and was standing quietly facing the door.
Corporal Saiful, wardens Barry and Shahryll were in the cell,” said Danny.
He stated that he saw Corporal Saiful punching the inmate several times in the stomach and that the inmate remained silent while being punched.
Shahryll and Barry stood quite far from Saiful and the inmate, said Danny.
Danny added that less than a minute later, Corporal Fazi came, entered the cell and straightaway punched the inmate in the shoulder several times and that the inmate remained silent while being punched.
Danny testified that after Saiful stopped punching the inmate, Fazi punched him and that both their punches were not strong and that the lights in the cell and walkway were on.
“The incident happened too fast. I did not have time to do anything. They stopped and at the same time I was stunned,” said Danny.
The witness also identified both Saiful and Fazi as well as Barry, Shahryll and Farizan, who was the fourth, 10th, first, ninth and third accused respectively, at the accused dock.
The witness also stated that he did not know the details of the inmate and that he only knew from his colleague that the inmate died from injuries.
Meanwhile, during cross-examination by counsel Hairul V. Othman, Danny testified he did not lodge a police report regarding allegedly witnessing Saiful and Fazi punching Shainal in cell number 11, Gemilang Block on Oct 2, 2019.
During re-examination by the prosecution, Danny testified that he did not lodge a police report after witnessing the incident because he did not see any injuries.
Director of Prosecution Sabah Muhammad Ilmami Ahmad together with Deputy Public Prosecutors Rustam Sanip, Nur Faezah Jafry and Mas Izzaty Lokman appeared for the prosecution.
Counsel PJ Perira, Dominic Chew and Ariel Dasan representing Dzulfikri, Farizan, Saiful, Mutalib and Zerry while counsel Hairul Vaiyron Othman defending Barry, Amran, Tommy, Shahryll and Fazi.
Trial continues.
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