SHAH ALAM, Nov 20 — The High Court today ordered a fresh police investigation and a public inquest into the 2024 death of a Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) student during a training programme, even as it rejected his father’s application to have the body exhumed.
Justice Roszianayati Ahmad directed the police to reopen the case with a new investigating officer from Bukit Aman and to complete the probe within three months, Fre Malaysia Today reported.
She also ordered the attorney general to convene an inquest to determine how the death occurred.
The judge said a full investigation and public inquest were necessary to resolve the central dispute in the case: whether the death of 26-year-old Amir Rusyaidi Zaidi was “caused or accelerated by the acts or negligence of others.”
She noted that numerous affidavits filed in the case contained conflicting facts and allegations that could only be resolved through these formal proceedings.
However, Roszianayati dismissed the father’s bid for an exhumation and a new post-mortem, ruling that the cause of death had been clearly established by Hospital Shah Alam as “heat stroke with multi-organ failure.”
“Multiple clinical tests and examinations showed severe dehydration involving multiple organs, with no physical injuries other than minor redness on the knees, which was not linked to the cause of death,” she said.
The judge also noted that this aligned with accounts from friends and trainers that the deceased had undergone intensive drills.
Amir Rusyaidi died on Nov 13, 2024, after being admitted to the hospital three days earlier during a university training programme.
His father, Zaidi Abdul Rahman, was represented by lawyer Aminahtul Mardiah Nor.
