Prisons nationwide have an excess of 20,000 inmates, Dewan Rakyat told

 

Malaysian prisons are overcrowded by 43%, says Deputy Home Minister Jonathan Yasin. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: There is a 43% excess of prisoners, numbering 20,341, in jails nationwide, the Dewan Rakyat was told today

Deputy Home Minister Jonathan Yasin said there were 66,761 inmates housed in 39 prisons throughout the country as at October.

He said these prisons were only meant for 46,420 individuals.

He was replying to Mohd Hatta Ramli (PH-Lumut), who asked about the measures taken by the ministry to reform the prison system after the spread of Covid-19 cases among their inmates.

Jonathon said 1,156 inmates had tested positive for the virus, while another 83 cases among prison staff and their family members had been reported.

To overcome the problem, he said, the Prisons Department had implemented SOPs set by the health ministry to treat positive cases by implementing quarantine to prevent further outbreaks.

All new prisoners will also be screened before being admitted to the prisons, he said.

He said other measures included the conversion of former National Service Training Programme (PLKN) camps into temporary prisons for remanded individuals and the setting up of transit centres to temporarily hold new inmates. - FMT