Nur Suhana Kasim Bakri, 37, the fifth defendant and a duty training officer at the KD Sultan Idris Lumut Naval Base six years ago, admitted to the fact during questioning by lawyer Latheefa Koya.
Latheefa is representing Soosaimanicckam’s family in a lawsuit filed by his father, S Joseph, against 11 parties, including RMN officers, an RMN commander, the Malaysian Armed Forces Council, the defence minister and the government, as the first to 15th defendants.
Suhana said she observed that Soosaimanicckam was unable to perform the physical training properly on the morning of May 19, 2018.
“On the day of the incident, about 60 trainees were undergoing physical training alongside Soosaimanicckam. The training was conducted by three physical trainers, and only they were authorised to give the trainees instructions,” she said.
“I also saw the victim being separated from the group of trainees. During the physical training that started at 8.30am and ended at 10am, all trainees, including the victim, were instructed to jog three laps, followed by light exercises such as press-ups.
“After that, I walked with the trainees for about 600m to the gym to measure their body mass index. Then, I directed them to clean the accommodation block.”
Latheefa: Did you ask the victim about his health? Whether he had a fever or was unwell?
Suhana: No.
Suhana said that after giving the cleaning instructions, she went to the military hospital for monitoring.
“The trainees were monitored by six other officers. I was at the hospital until 12.30pm. When I returned, I was informed by Lt Ariff that Soosaimanicckam needed to be taken to the hospital because he was unwell. I then gave the order to take him to hospital.
“At that time, I saw the victim being carried by other trainees towards a car. Two officers accompanied him in the car, and I followed in my car. He was admitted to the emergency ward and was pronounced dead at 1.45pm,” she said.
She said Soosaimanicckam’s death was reported to the senior officers and his family before his body was sent to Manjung Hospital, Perak.
In the lawsuit filed on May 19, 2021, Soosaimanicckam’s family alleges negligence on the part of the defendants for failing to provide emergency treatment when he collapsed on the day of the incident, and further alleges negligence in monitoring his well-being and health during the training session.
On Monday, the Ipoh High Court ruled Soosaimanicckam’s death a homicide, concluding that the direct cause was the actions of the RMN officers overseeing cadet training, who denied him medical treatment.
The trial before judge Idah Ismail continues on Aug 19.