THE government must hold an immediate public inquiry into claims of assault and torture by Jelebu Prison authorities on 22 detainees, said DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang.

He said the allegations from relatives of the 22 detainees during a press conference yesterday was shocking.

The families said detainees had had their genitals pepper-sprayed during quarantine, following a prison transfer, plus beatings with plastic pipes, sticks, chairs and other objects.

The 22 men – all Indian and aged between 20 and 45 years old – have been detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) since 2019 for suspected involvement in organised crime gangs.

“I call for a public inquiry into the shocking allegations… among the allegations is that the inmates’ genitals and anuses were pepper-sprayed, resulting in them being unable to urinate or defecate.

“The families of 10 prison inmates have filed police reports about the alleged abuse at Jelebu Prison in Negri Sembilan,” said the Iskandar Puteri MP in a statement today.

He also took a snipe at the government, by asking if the Parliament was being suspended (under the emergency order) to allow untrammelled and unchecked abuse of power by certain political leaders.

In the press conference yesterday, relatives said they feared the detainees could die in custody.

R. Lavaniyaa was reported as saying that her husband B. Kalaiarasan was suicidal.

“He said: ‘If I stay inside, I will die in prison. I will either kill myself or be beaten to death’,” said Lavaniyaa.

She said that on April 8, her husband and 21 other detainees were transferred from Sungai Udang Prison in Malacca to be quarantined for 14 days in Jelebu Prison after returning from the Seremban courts.

It was during this period that they were allegedly beaten by prison officers using PVC pipes, while they were still handcuffed.

The families also alleged beatings by others using canes, pipes, chairs, pieces of wood and other objects.

According to the families, the inmates said they could not identify these attackers because they wore plain clothes, adding that they were then ordered into a room, told to remove their pants and underwear before a prison guard pepper sprayed their genitals.

Apparently, Kalaiarasan spoke of the abuse when relatives visited him on April 27, their first chance to see him this year. They said that during that meeting, he complained that his genitals were still bleeding.

The family members also said none of the men received hospital treatment, save one who was hospitalised because of tuberculosis.

“It is shocking and completely unacceptable that prisoners are treated worse than animals, completely denied their human rights.

“It is equally shocking that many hair-raising stories about cruelty, brutality and inhumanity in prisons and police lock-ups are appearing during the tenure of Hamzah Zainuddin as home minister,” said Lim.

He said the retiring Inspector-General of Police, Abdul Hamid Bador had complained in his farewell media conference yesterday that Hamzah had interfered with the police and prevented it from becoming an independent, professional and world-class law enforcement agency.

These allegations of torture in detention follow the recent news about the death of A. Ganapathy in police custody recently.

Ganapathy died almost one month after being admitted to the Selayang Hospital’s intensive care unit following his arrest by police.

His mother said he was denied his right to receive medical treatment and was beaten, resulting in a serious injury.

Ganapathy, 40, was arrested on February 24 because police were hunting for his brother and wanted to know his whereabouts.

Ganapathy was released on March 8 but was later admitted to hospital. – May 2, 2021.