Universiti Sains Malaysia has been asked to investigate the death of a student on campus and to come up with a security plan to address the issue immediately.

An independent student movement, the Student Progressive Front, said this when referring to the case of John Yip, 23, a Pharmacy Science student who was found dead in a drain near the  Desasiswa Restu hostel yesterday.

“This incident has caused worry and fear among the students," the Student Progressive Front said in a statement today.

“The incident has also caused students to doubt safety and security measures taken by the university,” the group added.

“We urge USM to provide a proper explanation to the students and John’s family on the incident,” they stressed.

John was found dead by a security guard at 12.45am yesterday, but USM did not issue any announcement about the matter, the students said.

The Students Progressive Front said this “careless” attitude raises many questions and concerns about the students in the university.

Information void

The group also claimed that there had been two earlier deaths in the campus which the management did not announce, but this could not be independently verified.

“USM’s insensitive attitude has undermined the students’ confidence and that of the deceased’s family,” the students said.

“Is USM keeping silent on the issue to protect its reputation?” the students asked.

The students said they had the right to the latest information on such incidents as they are campus residents.

Delays in sharing information, they added, gave rise to rumours and speculation flying around, causing more worries among the students.

John’s death has yet to be classified but according to acting Northeast District police chief Supt Ismail Idris, the male student was found without identification documents.

He was found with injuries on his left thigh, bleeding nose and bruises on his jaw, according to a Bernama report yesterday.

He was wearing sports shorts and a yellow shirt with the words ‘Perak Branch Emergency Aid Competition’.

Ismail said the initial police probe showed that the CCTV camera located near the site was “non-functional”, while students questioned around the hostel claimed they did not know the deceased.

Vice-chancellor offers condolences

Responding to the issue today, USM vice-chancellor Omar Osman (left) expressed sadness over the incident and offered his condolences to the deceased’s family.

“I want to advise those who are ever facing problems to contact the university, for instance the counselling unit, dean or department head,” said Omar in a press conference today.

“I have requested the university to set up an internal committee to study in detail on how to proactively help those students who facing academic or personal problems. We hope they won’t keep the problem only to themselves,” he added.

Omar said he is not making any conclusion (about the cause of death) or is implying that the deceased was facing such problems.

He said he is merely advising the campus residents that they need to be concerned about one another.

“I have not yet been officially informed about the cause of death, and had only verbally been told that it was because of sudden death,” Omar said.