Suhakam confirms human rights violations against Taiping Prison detainees

The Malaysian human rights commission, Suhakam, conducted a public inquiry into human rights violations during and after an incident on 17 January 2025 at Taiping Prison, Perak.

The public inquiry was convened following a complaint received by Suhakam on 3 February 2025 from family members of High Court detainees.

The complaint alleged that a group of High Court detainees had been subjected to human rights violations at the prison.

Among the allegations of human rights violations brought to Suhakam’s attention were:

Following this, Suhakam initiated a public inquiry into the incident at the prison.

The public inquiry proceedings commenced on 9 June 2025 and lasted for three months and two weeks, with the final proceedings (oral submissions) held on 15 December 2025. A total of 50 witnesses testified, and 127 exhibits were tendered during the proceedings.

As a result of the inquiry, the inquiry panel confirmed that human rights violations against the High Court detainees had occurred during and after the incident on 17 January 2025 at Taiping Prison as follows:

In this regard, the public inquiry panel has proposed the following recommendations:

The full report of the public inquiry can be accessed here. – Suhakam