Two Malaysian Army personnel were injured after a firearm malfunctioned and exploded during a training exercise at Kem Hobart in Kedah on Monday evening.
The incident, which occurred at about 6pm, left a 35-year-old corporal, who was serving as an instructor, with injuries to his right knee that required eight stitches.
A 29-year-old sergeant also suffered injuries to his left knee and remains warded at Hospital Sultan Abdul Halim in Sungai Petani, where doctors are monitoring him for possible nerve damage.
Kedah police chief Datuk Adzli Abu Shah said preliminary investigations found that neither soldier was struck by a bullet. Instead, both were injured by fragments or foreign objects propelled when the weapon unexpectedly exploded.
Initial findings indicate that the firearm experienced a technical malfunction, known as a stoppage, during the training exercise.
“After the required safety procedures were carried out, including unloading the weapon and placing it on the ground, it suddenly exploded,” Adzli told a press conference on Tuesday.
He said investigators believe the explosion caused debris or foreign objects to ricochet and strike the two soldiers.
Medical examinations also confirmed that the injuries were consistent with impact from foreign objects rather than gunshot wounds.
Police further discovered that the regulator component of the weapon’s gas system had become detached, although the exact cause of the malfunction has yet to be determined.
The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) forensic team and weapons experts from the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) have inspected the scene as part of an ongoing investigation.
Although the incident is believed to have resulted from a technical failure rather than negligence, police have opened an investigation under Section 37 of the Firearms Act to establish the exact cause.
Several witnesses, including a major who was overseeing the exercise, have already been interviewed. Formal statements will be recorded once the injured soldiers are medically fit.
The training exercise involves around 300 officers and personnel from Kem Bukit Cowder in Perlis and is scheduled to run from Sunday until Thursday.
Meanwhile, Adzli said the police investigation into the deaths of two soldiers who were killed in a grenade explosion at the same camp on June 16 has been handed over to the Malaysian Armed Forces.
He said the case remains classified as a sudden death report (SDR), with the military continuing its own detailed investigation into the fatal incident.
