Questions on prison practices and whether alleged victim was hurt
By
Selina Lum
When Staff Sgt Zulkifi Osman (left) spoke to the alleged victim in hospital, he said he had been assaulted by cellmates. -- ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
THE unusual scene of prisoners questioning prison officers was played out in a courtroom on Friday as the trial of three inmates accused of assaulting their former cellmate entered its fifth day.
About the case
IRYAN Abdul Karim, 21, Muhammad Hamdan Abdul Rahman, 20, and Mohammed Zameen Abdul Manoff, 21, are accused of physically and sexually assaulting their 22-year-old former cellmate.
The offences are said to have been committed over eight days, from April 27 to May 4 last year.
Eleven prison officers called by the prosecution to testify were cross-examined by the three accused prisoners, who are conducting their own defence.
Two of the accused, Iryan Abdul Karim and Hamdan Abdul Rahman, said they had been beaten up by prison officers two days before making police statements.
Seven of the 11 officers questioned on Friday knew all the prisoners involved as they were from the unit where the prisoners were housed. They were asked about prison practices, such as daily strip search procedures, whether they had seen injuries on the alleged victim and whether he had complained about being assaulted.
The third accused, Zameen Abdul Manoff, 21, asked Deputy Superintendent Shahril Abdul Ghani, who was then in charge of their housing unit, about the methods used to check inmates.
The officer said inmates have to strip naked, show their open palms and armpits, open their mouths, turn around, squat and show the soles of their feet. These daily searches are made to check for bruises and hidden contraband items.
In response to questions from Justice Tay, DSP Shahril said two guards do the checks on about 110 inmates every morning. Altogether, this takes about 10 minutes. The judge noted this comes to no more than eight or so seconds per inmate.
Other officers who took the stand said they visually check each inmate. They said the alleged victim did not say he had been beaten up, or look ill or in pain.
Staff Sgt Jamalluddin Abdul Aziz said the alleged victim complained of being unwell. The officer did not see any visible injuries and told him to report sick.
A day later, the accuser pressed the intercom button in his cell to seek help. Two attending officers said they saw only abrasions on his knuckles.
While the alleged victim was in hospital, he confided in two guards. Staff Sgt Zulkifi Osman asked him if he wanted to say anything. He said he had been physically and sexually assaulted by cellmates and sodomised 'a few times' by Zameen. Staff Sgt Raymond Yin said the alleged victim 'straightaway' complained about it.
Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times
