Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: December 5, 1983
• Invested on: June 22, 1984

In a fine display of devotion to duty, Living Unit Officer Kandiah Thuraisamy sustained serious injuries while assisting another staff member in the Kent Maximum Security Institution, located near Agassiz, in British Columbia, on the evening of 17 September 1981. Mr. Thuraisamy and the other staff member were in the office of Living Unit C, when an inmate brandishing a sharpened knife slammed the door shut and ordered them to lie on the floor. Though he raised the alarm, the other staff member followed the order of the inmate. Judging the situation serious for himself and his colleague, and fearing a larger disturbance in the prison should they submit, Mr. Thuraisamy ignored the weapon and grappled with the inmate. In the ensuing scuffle he was stabbed twice and slumped against a wall. The inmate then turned to the other officer. Despite a serious wound in the abdomen, Mr. Thuraisamy continued to distract the inmate by throwing objects and yelling at him, thereby giving other officers time to force the door and subdue the convict.