UUM student’s death: Hindu NGO demand truth, thorough investigation

By Sharunya Raja

KUALA LUMPUR: United Malaysian Hindu Students League (UMHSL) has urged the Higher Education Ministry (MoHE) to set up a special inquiry committee to investigate the recent death of a 21-year-old accounting student.

Vinosiny, a second-year student at the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), was found dead in a university dormitory last Saturday.

UMHSL Head of Spokesperson Khirthiga Chantras said that the family members deserve to know the real cause of their daughter’s death along with a proper forensic report.

“We are expressing our deepest condolences and sympathy to the family member of the deceased,” she said in a statement.

Khirthiga also added that: “UUM should not remain silent without giving proper information in regards to the tragic incident to the family members and the public.

“The family members of the deceased and public deserves to know the detailed explanations of this incident and as this has raised concerns on the safety of every public university students.

“We also strongly condemn the inattention of the Higher Education Ministry (MoHE).

“We urge the ministry to immediately step up and take the necessary action to accelerate the investigation.

“We also strongly urge that the ministry should strictly emphasize more on the safety in public universities to ensure a safe atmosphere for students,” she said.

Khirthiga also demanded the ministry to conduct frequent inspections on universities to make sure everyone is following the rules and maintaining all the facilities in a good and safe conditions for the students.

“This will be very helpful to avoid similar incidents to happen in future, she added.

On Tuesday, Malaysiakini reported that Vinosiny’s father R. Sivakumar had said that the university management did not provide a clear explanation on the cause of his daughter’s death.

However, he told the online portal that he had seen his daughter’s remains and spotted burn marks on her face and right hand, and purple-blackish discolouration on two of her fingers.