KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 ― Reports of alleged torture and killings at the Immigration detention centre in Juru, Penang will be investigated by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail said today.
However, he stressed that he was “not pointing fingers” at any parties over the claims of abuse against female detainees at the centre, which allegedly caused the deaths of some inmates.
“We will investigate because that is under our mandate,” he told reporters at the sidelines of the Civil Society Conference and National Security here today.
The Cambodia Daily Monday quoted a Cambodian woman recently detained at the centre as alleging abuse and claiming that at least seven other detainees from Cambodia and Vietnam were beaten to death there.
Razali said that the allegations of abuse were “awful” and an “embarrassment” to the government.
“This is a disservice to the society,” he said.
“But I am not pointing fingers at anyone yet,” he added.
The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) told Malay Mail Online that it did not receive any complaints of abuse at the Juru immigration detention centre, while Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali reportedly denied the allegations of torture.
