Close to 60k inmates undergoing, completed rehab outside prison

 

PARLIAMENT | Ongoing government's efforts to reduce overcrowding in prisons as part of Covid-19 prevention measures have seen 56,247 individuals undergoing or having completed their rehabilitation process outside of the institution.

Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin in a written response to Wong Shu Qi (Harapan-Kluang) said the efforts include intensifying implementation of the Parole System, Compulsory Attendance Order, and Community Rehabilitation Centre.

Hamzah said the Prisons Department's Prisoners Licensed Release programme is also applicable for inmates serving a sentence of less than one year.

"Under the programme, qualified inmates can choose to undergo various work training in the manufacturing, construction, services and agriculture sectors," he said, adding that the process is coordinated by a Prisoners Licensed Board set-up under the department.

"The board at its first meeting in early October evaluated a report for 1,200 eligible inmates and made a recommendation to the prison commissioner-general on the number to be granted a licensed release," he said.

He said other measures taken include reducing the recidivism rate among inmates; expediting the deportation of foreign inmates who have completed their sentence; converting former National Service camps as admission prisons; as well as evaluating alternative sentences other than imprisonment.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March, Malaysia has recorded multiple clusters linked to a prison outbreak, largely attributed to cramped conditions and overcrowding.

The Benteng LD cluster, which was first reported on Sept 1, had emerged from detention facilities in Lahad Datu and Tawau in Sabah, but soon spread into surrounding communities.

The number of infections rose to become one of the largest Covid-19 clusters - 1,146 cases including one death - upon being declared close on Dec 14.

Overall, Hamzah, in a separate written response to Gobind Singh Deo (Harapan-Puchong), said that as of Nov 3, Prisons Department statistics have recorded 1,160 Covid-19 cases among prisoners, and 125 cases involving prison personnel and their family members. - Mkini