TAWAU, Oct 21 — The Prisons Department plans to build a prison in Lahad Datu, to address the problem of overcrowding and its consequences in the existing prisons in Sabah.
The department’s director of Management, Jamaluddin Saad said to date, there were 6,500 inmates in six Sabah prisons — Keningau Juvenile School, Henry Gurney School for Women, Kota Kinabalu Prison, Tawau Prison, Sandakan Prison, and Kota Kinabalu Prison for Women.
“The number of prisoners in Sabah has far exceeded the stipulated capacity.
“A proposal to build a prison in Lahad Datu has been submitted to the Finance Ministry and we hope it will be approved at the year-end,” he told reporters after the State-Level Message from the Prison programme, here, today.
Meanwhile, Sabah Prisons director, Ab Basir Mohammad said although the number of prisoners in Sabah had exceeded the prisons’ capacity, the department was still able to manage the prisons according to international standards and the existing regulations. — Bernama
