Prison officer fined S$10,000 for negligence which caused inmate’s death

by Repost on SgHardtruth

  • Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Masagos Zulkifli has sent his condolences to the family of Dinesh Raman and said its regrettable that the incident happened. He also said prison officers work in a very complex environment, working with prisoners with very diverse backgrounds. ~ CNA 
  • Prison Officers work with many violent men, Secret Society members, Rapist, Hard Core Criminals. Its not an easy job, you have to stand firm and yet know where to draw the line.
  • “Tension and aggression between inmates and towards officers must be handled promptly and properly to prevent any escalation,” Senior Minister of State Masagos Zulkifli said today after a prison officer was found guilty of causing the death of an inmate through a negligent act.  – todayonline
  • The Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement today that they will be looking into improving existing systems, protocols and processes following the death of a prison inmate. – todayonline
  • Factsheet on Committee of Inquiry on death of inmate ~ CNA

MHA_factsheet

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Statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs:

We offer our condolences to the family of Dinesh Raman s/o Chinnaiah on their loss.

On September 27, 2010, Dinesh Raman, a prison inmate, carried out an unprovoked attack on a prison officer outside his cell in the presence of other inmates. Prison officers responded to restrain him and to place him in a cell. He was left in a prone position in the cell.

Shortly after, due to his unresponsiveness, he was evacuated to hospital where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death was determined to be positional asphyxiation, i.e. the deceased was being placed in a prone position on the ground where he died due to breathing difficulties.

The Criminal Investigation Department conducted an investigation into the incident and referred its findings to the Attorney-General’s Chambers. AGC has charged the officer supervising the incident with Causing Death by a Negligent Act.

Separately, the Ministry of Home Affairs appointed an independent Committee of Inquiry to look into the circumstances surrounding the death, and to recommend improvements to existing systems, protocols and processes. The Committee submitted its report to the Ministry in June 2013.

The Ministry of Home Affairs accepts the findings and recommendations of the Committee and has directed the Singapore Prison Service to implement them.

We hold our officers to a high standard of professionalism. The Singapore Prison Service requires its officers to strictly abide by procedures and protocols, in particular when dealing with prisoners who are violent.

The Ministry of Home Affairs will work with the Singapore Prison Service to determine whether other officers involved in this incident have met the required performance standards, and whether disciplinary proceedings should be taken against any of them.

Ministry of Home Affairs

19 July 2013

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Interior of Changi Prison. Lim is said to “failed to exercise adequate supervision” in the restraint of the inmate Dinesh Raman. Dinesh Raman’s death is said to be caused by positional asphyxia.Imge Source : ST
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Prison officer fined $10,000 after pleading guilty to causing inmate’s death by negligence

SINGAPORE – A deputy superintendent in the Singapore Prisons was today fined S$10,000 for negligence which resulted in the death of an inmate.

Lim Kwo Yin was also today charged and pleaded guilty to committing a negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide that caused the death of Dinesh Raman.

The 36-year-old who was the officer in charge of Cluster A4 Housing Unit 2 and the Senior Prison Officer supervising the operation to restrain Dinesh, had failed to exercise adequate supervision, which led to him dying of “positional asphyxia”.

Dinesh, who was 21 years old at the time of the incident, was found unconscious in a cell at the Disciplinary Housing unit (DHU) in the Changi Prison Complex on Sept 27, 2010.

That morning, Dinesh had exited his cell and kicked a prison warden in his abdomen which caused him to be subsequently restrained and brought to the DHU.

Dinesh was then put in a “prone position” on the ground that restricted the respiratory movements of his chest and abdomen and was left unattended in the cell whilst unresponsive in the position.

He was then conveyed to Changi General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Lim could have been jailed for up to two years and fined.

Source : todayonline : Prison officer fined S$10,000 for negligence which caused inmate’s death

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