Prison bashing: Suhakam says excessive force used

Four Sungai Buloh prison inmates who were allegedly beaten by wardens last Thursday are in a bad shape and should be given urgent treatment, said Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) today.

Commissioner N Siva Subramaniam who visited the inmates today said that it was evident that excessive force was used on the inmates by prison authorities.

Siva added that the inmates had complained that they were "bashed up" by prison guards in an incident where pepper spray was also used on them by the prison's Special Action Force.

The prison authorities said last week that the wardens had moved in to stop a fight among the inmates. Six inmates had suffered serious injuries in the fracas.

Speaking to Malaysiakini after the visit, Siva said he saw inmates with swollen legs and some with head wounds. Many of them had severe bruises, he added.

He also said that the wounds on the backs of the inmates looked as though they were caused by batons.

"In some cases the bruises were really deep that it requires further treatment," he said.

Siva said that two of the inmates had suffered hairline cracks in their bones.

He said that of the six who were seriously injured, these two were in a better shape and do not require urgent treatment.

One of them, he said, attained injuries in both his hands and legs while another had the same problem with his hands.

He added that the conditions of the other four were worse and that they should be given proper treatment soon.

"We have told the prison authorities of the need to send these four to hospital as soon as possible. We will follow up our oral request with a written one tomorrow and I hope they will adhere," he said.

In the fracas, two prison officers had also sustained scratches and had been given "simple treatment".

Weapons and drugs found in raid

Siva said that based on the feedback that he got today, the fight among the inmates started with a misunderstanding in an area called Tawakkal within the prison.

"As a result of the misunderstanding, a television set broke. Subsequently prison authorities had received information that there were weapons and drugs in the block," explained Siva.

"The Special Action Force was called in to conduct a thorough search for drugs and weapons," he added.

He said that while that was being done, the prison guards had urged the prisoners of Block A to come out of their cells. However the prisoners refused to do so, resulting in the use of pepper spray on them, causing another fracas in the prison.

He also said that the prison guards had found weapons and drugs during their search.

In the visit this morning, Siva was accompanied by three Suhakam officers. They had questioned the prison authorities, 27 inmates, four wardens who were at the scene and two prison doctors for about five hours.

In the aftermath of the fracas, Siva said the injured inmates were treated by prison doctors.

Six of the seriously injured inmates could not be taken to the Sungai Buloh hospital immediately due to shortage of personnel and were only taken the next day for out-patient treatment.

He also said that a review of the prison system was needed to ensure there was a proper ratio of warden to prisoners.

"The international standard is one warden to four prisoners but in this prison the ratio is 1:30. The CCTV system needs to be upgraded as well. The footage that we saw had no audio.

"We need to check drug usage within inmates in the prison itself," he added.

He said that the commission will be discussing this matter at its next monthly meeting and a full report would be prepared on the visit and the recommendations made.

Family members of the injured inmates were also allowed to visit the prisoners for the first time today.

After the incident, the Prisons Department said that it was setting up an inquiry board to investigate a scuffle.