THE authorities have not conducted any inquest for most of the custodial deaths that occurred from 2020, said the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam)

Suhakam commissioner Jerald Joseph said the commission had looked into 12 death-in-custody cases in 2020, and six so far this year.

He added that most of the deaths in custody occurred due to health complications.

“In 2020, we investigated 12 cases, which were six in prisons, four in police lock-ups and two in immigration detention centres.

“This year, six cases were found – three each in prisons and lock-ups.

“Suhakam discovered that no inquest has yet to be conducted for most of the cases,” he said in a virtual press conference.

“From the investigation for the cases in 2020, we found the majority of the (deaths) … were due to health issues,” he added.

Jerald also explained that although authorities conduct health inspections before someone is locked-up, improvements should be made.

“We have made few suggestions to the police in order to prevent deaths in custody from recurring. For instance, every suspect must undergo a health screening before he is locked up.

“If the suspect is found not fit to be detained, he or she must be released on police bail.

“For now, there are no health officials at police lock-ups. A suspect needs to fill a form at the police station to answer about his health condition,” Joseph said.

Commenting on deaths in prisons, Joseph said Suhakam had suggested to the Prisons Department to add more medical staff as most prisons in the country are overcrowded.

“There is a huge gap between medical staff and the number of inmates, making it hard for medics to carry out their duties,” he said.

Joseph also said the government should place a medical assistant at every detention centre.

“For now, medical assistants are only placed at the immigration depot. The government, through the Health Ministry, must station a medical assistant at every centre,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jerald announced that the police and the Health Ministry have formed a custodial health unit that will be set up at five central lock-ups.

“This unit will run soon. It will be set at five central lock-ups, namely in Bayan Baru in Penang, Indera Mahkota in Pahang, Shah Alam in Selangor, Jinjang in Kuala Lumpur and Kepayan in Sabah.

“The first two units that will run are at Bayan Baru and Indera Mahkota,” he said. – May 20, 2021.