Seven Acehnese refugees, including three children, who were detained in the Jalan Hang Tuah police station detention centre in Kuala Lumpur for five days have claimed that they went through a traumatic experience.

They were placed in a lock-up with 20 other detainees whom they believe were drug addicts, given food which were stale and forced to drink tap water. Requests for medicine for their sick children were also rejected.

The seven arrested last Saturday were Yusrijal Hussin, 27, Mariana Mohd, 32 and a family - Amir Salem, 43, his wife Mariani Jaafar, 31, their son aged 10 and daughters aged four and 17.

Relating their experience to malaysiakini, Mariani Jaafar said the children were frightened and cried all the time after they were arrested.

Stale food

She revealed that she and her three children, together with Mariana Mohd, were placed in a room with about 20 detainees whom she claimed were drug addicts. The detention centre (formerly Pudu jail) is used to detain addicts.

"They were all drug addicts but the police put my children together with them," she said.

She claimed the food given in the lock-up was stale and which she dared not give her children. When she asked for bread, she was scolded.

"I also asked for some water for my children, not for myself, but it was also rejected. They asked us to drink tap water," she said.

Mariana Jaafar also related how her children, without proper food and lack of sleep, fell ill. Her requests for medicine were rejected.

Her 17-year-old daughter said she was so scared throughout the five-day ordeal. "I did not eat for the five days."

When contacted, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) Kuala Lumpur-based protection officer Shinji Kubo confirmed the arrest of the seven.

Asked to comment on the detention of the children in the lock-up, Kubo said the detention of refugee children should be avoided as it contradicts the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child.

"We hope that those recognised by UNHCR will not be arrested. Unfortunately, numerous arrests involving children have occurred regularly," he said.

Violates Convention

Human rights group Suaram coordinator Eric Paulsen when contacted also said that detaining children violates the Convention on the Rights of Child, as children as a vulnerable group should be given extra protection.

"Malaysia has ratified that convention. Therefore, the government is obligated to give protection to the children," he asserted.

He said children who are detained must not be placed in the same room with adult detainees.

Paulsen added it was unfortunate that although civil society groups and UNHCR have repeatedly call upon the government to differentiate undocumented immigrants (illegal immigrants) and refugees, Acehnese refugees are still being arrested.

Malaysia has strictly refused to recognise the status of refugees on the ground that it is not party to the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees. This poses a problem for UNHCR and human rights groups who rely on the authorities to make clear distinction between economic migrants and refugees.