AS the heat from conviction of sales promoter/clerk Sam Ke Ting for reckless driving in the fatal “basikal lajak” accident has yet to fully subside, Malaysians are left shocked – or rather puzzled – with revelation of a massive pre-dawn riot at the Relau immigration detention centre in Bandar Baharu, Kedah.
The riot which stemmed from a protest by 650 undocumented Rohingya detainees at 4:30am today quickly got out of control and escalated into a riot which resulted in a massive prison break, which saw about 500 detainees fleeing.
“They broke doors and grills to the block before escaping,” Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud pointed out in a statement. “Officers on duty had alerted the police and relevant agencies on the escape.”
As of 10am, 362 detainees have been rearrested with the authorities actively looking for the remaining detainees with the help of the police and Rela officers. Another six detainees died after being hit by vehicles while attempting to cross the southbound North South Expressway near Jawi.
Penang Police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the six detainees who perished at the 6:50am incident comprised two men, to women, a boy and a girl.
Reacting to what he described as a “shocking tragedy”, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner Jerald Joseph called for the setting up of an independent body made up of representatives other than the Home Ministry to investigate the incident.
Speaking to The Star, he said the investigation should look at the current status of the detainees at the detention centre as they were currently caught in a limbo.
“Unlike the usual economic illegal migrants who are detained, processed and deported back to their country of origin, the Rohingya here are more stateless refugees and asylum seekers,” noted Joseph.
“There are over 1,000 (Rohingya detainees) in detention centres who have been detained for an indefinite period as they can’t be sent back to Myanmar.”
He further shared that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representatives have been denied entry into the Relau detention centre although they had sought access to help process the detainees.
“The investigations should also look at what sparked the protest and riot. The protest happened at such an early hour in the morning,” reckoned Joseph. “Was it due to frustration at being detained without a definite conclusion? Was it due to anger at the authorities due to the lack of food or were they badly treated?”
On March 17, Deputy Home Minister Ismail Mohamed Said revealed that there have been 208 deaths in immigration custody from 2018 up to Feb 15 this year. He attributed the deaths at 18 immigration detention depots nationwide to various health complications, including 25 from COVID-19.
“Causes of death include septic shock, severe pneumonia, tuberculosis, lung infection, dengue, heart complication, asphyxiation, and 25 cases of COVID-19,” he said when responding to Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (BN-Pengerang) during question time at the Dewan Rakyat.
Early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 saw immigration authorities cracking down on migrants as part of the nationwide lockdown, also snaring tourists who overstayed and recording at least one high profile death.
Ismail further said among measures taken to improve health conditions among immigration detainees include placement of an assistant health officer at each depot, health screenings, immunisation of child detainees and disease management with help from the local District Health Department. – April 20, 2022
