KUALA LUMPUR – A National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM) student has claimed trial to a charge of causing hurt to his junior by stomping on the victim’s stomach with spiked boots.
The accused, UPNM cadet Mohd Adil Mat Awang Ghani, 22, pleaded not guilty when read the charge before magistrate Noorelynna Hanim Abd Halim at the Magistrate’s Court here today.
The case facts state the accused allegedly committed the offence at UPNM’s training field in Sg Besi around 10.45pm on October 21, media report.
The charge, framed under Section 323 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt, provides a jail term of up to a year, a maximum fine of RM2,000 or both if convicted.
The magistrate allowed bail at RM5,000 in one surety, and also fixed Feb 10, 2025 for mention.
It was previously reported that a first-year UPNM student, aged 19, suffered fractured ribs and spinal injuries after he was stomped on by a third-year senior student following roll call near the university’s field in Sg Besi.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said a report on the incident, believed to have taken place on October 21, was only lodged on November 8.
On the same day the report was lodged, a fourth-year cadet officer from ALK-UPNM was charged with causing second-degree burns to his junior, second-year Muhammad Salman Mohd Saiful Surash, 20, using a hot steam iron at 11.45pm on October 22.
Amirul Iskandar Norhanizan, 22, pled not guilty when charged under Section 324 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt using dangerous means.
UPNM had found itself in the public limelight recently after several reports of bullying and violence leading to serious injuries, with the Defence Ministry taking action by determining punishments for five cadets linked to two incidents.
In 2017, the nation was stunned by the death of UPNM cadet officer Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, who died after being beaten and tortured with a steam iron pressed to most parts of his body repeatedly.
Six former UPNM students were convicted of his murder, with the appellate court overturning the high court’s reduced charge for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, instead imposing the death sentence. – November 22, 2024