KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 — Three national servicemen aged between 18 and 20 are under police detention for the suspected murder of a fellow teenage trainee at the Pinggiran Pelangi camp in Muadzam Shah near Rompin, Pahang, The Star Online reported today.
Muhammad Suhaimi Norhamidi, 18, from Kerdau, Pahang was found unconscious on the bathroom floor of the camp on Sunday, the news portal reported, citing Rompin district police deputy superintendant Johari Jahaya, and died without waking up.
“The report revealed that the victim died of internal bleeding in the head due to blunt trauma,” Johari was quoted saying.
He said the police had classified the teen’s death as murder following an autopsy and were investigating all angles, including the possibility of a fight that broke out among the trainees that may have led to Muhammad Suhaimi’s death.
He added that the three other trainees, whose names were not immediately made known, have been remanded until September 30.
Muhammad Suhaimi has since been buried in his hometown, the news portal reported. It cited the victim’s father, Norhamidi Bakar, 46, saying he would leave the investigation to the authorities.
National Service Training Department acting director-general Rozainor Ramli was also reported to have formed a special unit to look into the incident.
The news portal noted that the camp has been closed to outsiders, citing a security guard who said he had been ordered to prohibit any visitor from entering.
The National Service programme, which randomly drafts in school-leavers for three months, has been mired in controversy since it kicked off in 2003, due to reports of rape and some 19 fatalities from over 600,000 conscripts to date.
Last year, the government closed down a training camp in Sungai Siput, Perak after 18-year-old national serviceman R. Vinoth, died in March as a result of leptospirosis, commonly known as “rat fever”.
Leptospirosis is caused by exposure to the Leptospira bacteria, which can be found in fresh water contaminated by animal urine.
