RM30-00 per day for food per prisoner???

It is very wrong for a person to be in prison after he has served his/her sentence - possibly one can sue the government of Malaysia and the Prisons Department for this. The Federal Constitution is very clear on this when it clearly states that "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance with law."

The next interesting point is the FOOD BILL per day per prisoner. About 442 ex-prisoners still in prison --- and RM13,260 food bill per day for the government... and that means per ex-prisoner per day food costs is RM30-00. (Note if a person outside spends RM30-00 per day, it will cost him about RM900/- per month - and this is absurd as most Malaysians do not even earn that much ). I believe the ACA (Anti-Corruption Agency) must look into this "food matter" and see if there is any corruption. Maybe the auditor general should also look into this matter......

Also interesting to note is that there are 42 foreign prisoners are on death row...

2008/02/09

Free, but they’re still in jail

Immigration director-general Datuk Wahid Mohd Don says the Prisons Department should get online with his department as soon as the foreigners are sent to prison

PUTRAJAYA: An estimated 442 foreigners have done their time at prisons nationwide but are still behind bars because of the alleged ineptitude of the Prisons and Immigration Departments.

This is not only costing them their freedom but is also racking up a RM13,260 food bill per day for the government.

Their “extended” sentences are due to the eleventh-hour preparations by Prisons officials for the deportation of the prisoners and the problems Immigration authorities face when liaising with foreign missions here.

The problem of prisoners who have “overstayed” is not new. There are no fewer than 400 ready-to-be-released prison inmates at any one time.

Sources said the problem starts at the prison where officials invariably delayed informing Immigration officials of the imminent release of prisoners even though the normal procedure is to notify the Immigration Department a fortnight before.

But this is where the rub is as Immigration authorities are usually unable to identify the nationality of some prisoners. In addition, they need certain documents from the relevant foreign missions here.

An Internal Security Ministry source said the Prisons Department did not want to keep prisoners behind bars for even a day beyond their sentence.

“If it is up to the Prisons Department, prisoners will be out the day they are supposed to be released.

“But as procedures would have it, we hand over these ex-prisoners, who are mostly illegal immigrants, to the Immigration Department. The problem is that the Immigration Department is slow.”

He said the Prisons Department could not simply let them out on the streets as they were supposed to be deported. “We also require certain documents from the Immigration Department before prisoners can be handed over to it.”

Immigration director-general Datuk Wahid Mohd Don had his own story of woe to tell, which involved “last-minute notification by the Prisons Department of the impending release of prisoners".

He said in most cases Immigration officials had to identify the nationality of prisoners and obtain other details from the foreign missions concerned.

“The response from the embassies is not always immediate. It would ease the problem if the Prisons Department gets online with us as soon as the foreigners are sent to prison.

“The embassies, too, should take more responsibility in this matter and respond efficiently to us.”

Meanwhile, it is understood that foreign prisoners make up about 33 per cent of the prison population. Most were convicted of murder, armed robbery and rape.

Statistics show that 90 per cent of the 11,900 foreign prisoners in Malaysia are from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.

Prison statistics show that 42 foreign prisoners are on death row and 33 are in prison for the term of their natural life. There are also six juveniles at the Henry Gurney school.