Back in 2017, Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, a military cadet officer at the National Defense University of Malaysia (UPNM), met his demise at the hands of his bullies after they had physically abused and tortured him with a hot steam iron.
While Zulfarhan’s six abusers were sentenced to death by the Court of Appeal earlier this year, a similar case has occurred with a second-year cadet officer at the UPNM Military Training Academy (ALK), who was found with burn wounds on his chest in the shape of a steam iron.
On Wednesday (30 October), the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) published a statement on Facebook confirming the incident, and that a thorough investigation will be conducted.
MAF also stated no party involved in the case would be protected or compromised, emphasizing strict disciplinary action or legal measures would be taken against those involved, if proven guilty.
Netizens commented on the statement, expressing their grief on the case with one user saying that people’s lives are not to be toyed with like a game.
Another user asked why this case is not being brought up with the police, but being investigated internally instead.
One more referred to the last similar case at UPNM by asking “Why did the senior not take the last case as a lesson? Is he not afraid?”.
In an interview with The Merdeka Times, a source revealed that a duty officer discovered the victim’s burn marks by accident during an unarmed combat training exercise the cadet officer participated in last week.
Actions taken previously were not enough to deter similar bullying case
Zulfarhan’s father, Zulkarnain Idros, believes the latest incident proved that whatever action previously taken by the university’s administration did not do anything to prevent students from bullying other students.
However, he did applaud the officer who reported the cadet’s burn marks after discovering it, saying the act had prevented the cadet from facing the same fate as his son.
“I commend the officer’s actions; that as a step to detect issues early. Otherwise, we would not have known about it as it (bullying) could have continued much longer,” he said in a New Straits Times report.
Heavy punishment for bullying that result in murder
Zulfarhan was abused by six fellow students when they beat him up before pressing a hot steam iron to his body. He sustained multiple injuries and died from them at Serdang Hospital on 1 June 2017.
He received justice in July this year when his bullies were given the death penalty by the Court of Appeal.
Zulfarhan’s bullies started torturing him after they accused him of stealing a laptop belonging to one of them, although he never admitted to stealing it.
If you are being bullied, or know someone who is being bullied, tell a trusted adult or report the bully through this Education Ministry portal.
