In a statement, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Ismail said the instructors, who are officers of the Malaysian Armed Forces, would be jointly charged under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code, read with Section 34 of the same code.

Section 304(a), which defines the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, carries a maximum punishment of 30 years’ imprisonment and a fine upon conviction.

The officers will be charged at the Kota Tinggi sessions court in Johor this morning, Khalid said.

Syamsul, 22, the eldest of three siblings, died on July 28 last year under unclear circumstances while undergoing training at the Army Combat Training Centre in Ulu Tiram, Johor.

He began training on July 26 and had been expected to finish on Aug 3.

He was reported to have suffered a seizure before his death. However, Syamsul’s mother alleged that her son’s body bore bruises and injuries consistent with physical assault rather than a seizure.

A second post-mortem report by forensic expert Siew Sheue Feng indicated that Syamsul sustained “severe neck injuries” while he was alive.

On Dec 2, the AGC ordered the police to probe Syamsul’s death as a murder after reviewing the findings of the police investigation.