Well, finally someone who was arrested and detained seem to have the guts to seek justice. Many after being arrested and detained will simply walk away from the 'experience' and so sadly we will not know their wrongdoings and also the condition of detention places in Malaysia. Many have raised about this issue, including the SUHAKAM(Malaysian Human Rights Commission who still have no HR Commissioners since end April).
SUHAKAM reiterates 1,300 dead in 6 years in detention places - "...medical care overiding reason..."
Detention Conditions of Immigration Department Detention Centres - that is the issue that this case will highlight. Condition of Malaysian prisons is another concern, which lawyer Uthayakumar also highlighted after his release from prison. Of course, then there is condition of police lock-ups, and we remember that there has been many allegations of torture and even death in custody.
Uthaya recounts horrors of a Malaysian prison - see Prison conditions and OTHER prisoner rights? Why not, Anwar Ibrahim?
From the report, it is also odd that this 68 year old man was arrested and detained for 37 days. If he was suspected of committing a crime, he should have been brought before a Magistrate within 24 hours...Was he?
After that he should have been charged in court and given a fair trial. If found guilty, he would be sentenced - and if sentenced to jail, then he should have been in prison - not the Immigration Detention Centre.
Even if he was an undocumented migrant(which seems not the case as he says he is a Singapore citizen with a valid visa), and he was to be just deported - why did it take so long? Deportation to neighboring ASEAN nations should have been done fast...so why so long?
Those who have been wrongfully detained, can apply to court - a process known as habeas corpus. Interestingly, before the case came up for hearing, he was released the day before - and the effect is that there will be no more hearing as he had been released. The courts will be deprived the ability to see whether the arrest and detention is illegal or not? This happens often...one is released just before the court can hear the case...
The statement of claim noted that Louis had through his lawyers written to the Immigration director-general on November 1, 2018 but received no response, and had on November 9 filed a habeas corpus application at the High Court.But just a day before the scheduled hearing for Louis’ habeas corpus application or challenge against his detention, he was released on November 14 with a seven-day special pass and he left Malaysia within that period, while his legal challenge was withdrawn from court as he had been released from detention.
Why was he kept in detention at Immigration Detention Centers for so many days? According to law, the maximum number of days of detention is 14 days - after that he should have been charged in court? Something very wrong...
Many foreigners are in Malaysia legally when arrested - but during arrest and detention by police and immigration, their 30-day social visit visa may expire. Is it RIGHT then for Immigration or police to continue to detain them, as they have now become 'undocumented migrants'? The answer must justly be 'NO'.
Even a foreigner, whose visa has expired, when charged in court can be released on bail if the offence for which they are charged for allows for Bail. I was successful in a case. All that was required to be done was secure a 'special pass' which allows for a one month stay or more, and the court may require the passport to be deposited in court. Was this Singaporean even charged in court?
Are detentions being used to 'enrich' some is wrong ...there are allegations of water being sold at RM10 ...maybe MACC should investigate whether there are such corrupt practices going on... more detainees should also benefit food providers, etc ...?
“A small bottle of drinking water cost RM10. Purchase was limited by amount and time,” Louis’ statement of claim said, alleging that the payments were taken from his wallet held by immigration officers and from money given by visitors.
Now, the government's and the Attorney General's priority may be to defend the government and the Immigration Department ...BUT I SAY THAT THINGS HAVE BEEN HIGHLIGHTED ABOUT DETENTION CONDITIONS AND ABUSES - and these must now be immediately addressed. There must be an independent inquiry by relevant authorities like the police, MACC and even the Health Ministry (not the Immigration Department) - and, if true, action must be taken against Immigration officers that breached the law...and those who are 'making money'(or allowing such activities) like selling stuff in prison ..When in prison/Detention Centres, all is provided free by the authorities - selling drinks, cigarettes, drugs, etc is wrong?
NO MORE 'COVER UP' OF IMMIGRATION OFFICERS OR OTHER CIVIL SERVANTS THAT BREACH THE LAW?
Prison conditions and OTHER prisoner rights? Why not, Anwar Ibrahim?
126 groups:- Death of 2 Burmese Indicative of State of Detention Places in Malaysia - Denial of Healthcare Is a Violation of Right to Life
23 Groups Joint Statement : Leptospirosis Causes Death Of Another 6 Burmese In Detention In Malaysia - Denial Of Healthcare....
Singapore man sues Malaysia's Immigration Dept for RM2.67m over 'inhuman’ detention
KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 — A Singaporean man has filed a lawsuit
against Malaysia’s Immigration Department, seeking RM2.67 million in
compensation for his 37-day detention in an over-crowded cell.
Puis Gilbert Louis, who will be 68 this July, said his ordeal started
with his arrest by immigration officers during a 10.10pm raid of his
house in Johor Baru on October 9, 2018.
In his statement of claim filed by his lawyer Arun Kasi, Louis was
said to have a valid visa then to be in Malaysia until November 7, 2018,
and that the four others in the house were a female friend from the
Philippines with a proper visa and three individuals invited by the
friend.
Claiming to not know which country the three individuals belonged to
or their immigration status, Louis suggested his arrest could be over
the alleged illegal harbouring of the three who were allegedly illegal
immigrants but noted he was not told that this was the reason and was
not charged for it.
Louis was said to have managed to use his mobile phone to notify his
family and friends through Facebook of his arrest while he was taken
from the house to the Setia Tropika immigration office, where
immigration officials allegedly took away all his belongings including
his mobile phone, wallet, cash, house keys, car keys and shoes.
At the Setia Tropika immigration centre, Louis alleged he was kept in
a cramped cell with 100 other detainees where he could only sleep on a
“bare dirty floor” before his transfer the next morning to the Pekan
Nanas immigration camp.
Louis, who is said to be a claustrophobe and suffers from asthma, was
alleged to have been transported handcuffed to another detention centre
in an eight-seater truck compartment with about 30 other detainees.
Louis allegedly had breathing difficulties during his trip to the
Pekan Nanas immigration camp due to the cramped conditions, and had to
be pushed to an open window in the truck compartment to get air; he
ended up getting wet due to the heavy rain then.
‘Horrifying’ cell
Louis was allegedly detained for the next 36 days until November 14,
2018 in an overcrowded cell that was meant to be for 50 people only, but
housed about 130 during his time at the Pekan Nanas immigration camp.
“The condition was so horrifying and terrifying that ordinarily it
would not be expected that any human being would be kept under that
condition.
“The toilet was within the cell and was dirty and open. No clean
water was available for drinking. Food was provided in an unhygienic
condition,” his statement of claim sighted by Malay Mail said.
Louis claimed the generally warm cell had no fan and limited
ventilation, with most detainees “sweating and smelling bad”, noting
that detainees also slept in cramped conditions.
He listed items that were not provided to him and the detainees,
including mat, pillow, blanket, footwear, toiletries including soap and
towel, change of clothing; saying that he had to walk barefoot and sleep
on a dirty bare floor.
He said he wore the same clothes for the first 14 days, and only
changed his clothes once when he was brought to his house after 14 days
for the immigration officers to view a CCTV recording there.
“Many of the detainees did not take a bath for long... Many of them
were scratching their bodies badly and diseases including herpes were
spreading,” he said.
Louis said he only managed to shower after the first 10 days after
he managed to buy soap at an “excessive price” from an alleged
privately-operated store.
“A small bottle of drinking water cost RM10. Purchase was limited by
amount and time,” Louis’ statement of claim said, alleging that the
payments were taken from his wallet held by immigration officers and
from money given by visitors.
Louis said other detainees viewed him as a relatively well-to-do
person and that he had to purchase items for them to avoid being
“disturbed or harmed”, claiming that he and the rest had to buy things
for a self-proclaimed leader among those detained.
He claimed to have paid for the ferry tickets costing RM350 each for
three Indonesians who were detained for about two years, as the trio
lacked the money to buy the tickets or were unable to communicate with
their families to arrange for the tickets.
Louis allegedly contracted diseases due to the detention conditions
and lost substantial weight, but could only seek medical treatment after
release, the statement of claim said.
Louis claimed to have informed immigration officials upon arrival at
the Pekan Nanas immigration camp that he was under medication for his
heart condition and that his life would be at threat without medication,
but said he was mostly without proper medication other than when a
government doctor outside the camp provided medicine for a few days.
Arun said no lawyer was allowed to visit his client during detention,
with family and friends allowed limited access and that Arun himself
who came as a friend was able to speak with Louis for only 20 minutes.
Alleging that seeking access to justice was hampered by restrictions
such as a commissioner of oaths being denied a meeting with Louis to
have him affirm an affidavit for court purposes, the statement of claim
said many detainees in the camp did not have communication with the
outside world for many months.
“The conditions of detention transgressed all basic standards of
detaining humans and was without regard to any minimum standards of
humanity and inflicted cruelty against humanity,” the statement of claim
said.
‘Degrading treatment’
In the statement of claim, Louis alleged the treatment received
throughout his detention amounted to “torture” and “cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment and punishment” (CIDTP) as defined under
international conventions, and that it breaches Articles 5 and 7(1) of
the Federal Constitution.
Article 7(1) states that no one shall be punished for actions that
were not punishable by law when it was taken, and no one shall suffer
greater punishment for an offence than prescribed by the laws existing
then.
The statement of claim noted that Louis had through his lawyers
written to the Immigration director-general on November 1, 2018 but
received no response, and had on November 9 filed a habeas corpus application at the High Court.
But just a day before the scheduled hearing for Louis’ habeas corpus application
or challenge against his detention, he was released on November 14 with
a seven-day special pass and he left Malaysia within that period, while
his legal challenge was withdrawn from court as he had been released
from detention.
Louis claimed his arrest was unlawful as there was allegedly no valid
reason for the arrest with no investigation carried out for any offence
or no charges pressed against him, and as he was not presented before a
magistrate.
Louis claims that his arrest violated the Federal Constitution’s
Article 5, which provides that no one is to be deprived of their
personal liberty unless in accordance to law, and that a person arrested
shall be informed of the reasons for the arrest and be allowed to
consult lawyers.
Article 5(4) also comes with a provision that a non-Malaysian who is
arrested cannot be further detained beyond 14 days without being brought
before a magistrate and with the magistrate’s authority, in contrast to
a Malaysian who has to be produced before a magistrate without
unreasonable delay and within 24 hours, which Louis said infringes on
the Constitution’s Article 8(1) guarantee of non-discrimination and
equality for all before the law.
Arguing the amendment that led to the different timeframe for
non-Malaysians was unconstitutional and unlawful, Louis’ lawyer argued
that this made his continued detention beyond 24 hours without being
brought to court also unlawful and unconstitutional.
The lawsuit was filed in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on May 28
against the Immigration Department of Malaysia’s director-general and
the Malaysian government.
In the lawsuit, Louis is seeking RM840,000 in aggravated damages over
his distress suffered during his arrest and throughout his detention as
well as the alleged continued stress after release.
Louis is also seeking RM1.83 million in exemplary damages, including
RM700,000 over his detention without heart medication that allegedly put
his life at risk, RM370,000 for infringement of the Constitution by not
presenting him before a magistrate, RM360,000 for the conditions he was
detained under, and RM100,000 each for four items including for failing
to provide basic toiletries and necessities, and violation of
constitutional safeguards linked to arrest and for unlawful arrest.
He is also seeking a declaration that he was subjected to torture and
treatment considered CIDTP, and declarations that such treatment is
prohibited under the Federal Constitution due to Articles 5 and 7, as
well as a declaration that the amended constitutional clause that gives
rise to different treatment for non-citizens is unlawful,
unconstitutional and invalid.
Arun said the court papers for the lawsuit have been served on the Attorney General’s Chambers.
Malay Mail has contacted the Immigration Department for its comment, but did not receive a reply. - Malay Mail, 12/6/2019
Local man sues Malaysia’s Immigration Department for RM2.67 million over ‘unlawful arrest’ and ‘degrading treatment’ during detention
A
Singaporean man, who is a retired teacher and a well-known musician, is
suing Malaysia’s Immigration Department for RM2.67 million over his
37-day detention in an over-crowded and badly-maintained cell.
Puis
Gilbert Louis, who will turn 68 next month, said that his nightmare
started when the immigration officers raided his house in Johor Bahru on
9 October 2018 and arrested him.
Based on his statement of claim
filed by his lawyer Arun Kasi, the man who owns a valid visa to be in
Malaysia until 2 November 2018, was in the house with four other
individuals, and one of them was his female friend from the Philippines
who also holds a valid visa.
However, the additional three people
in the house were friends of his Filipino friend and he is unaware of
their origin or their immigration status.
Mr Louis claims that his arrest could be possibly due to
the alleged illegal harbouring of the three who were apparently illegal
immigrants. But, he expressed that he was not informed if he was
arrested for this reason or charged for it.
Detention at Setia Tropika Immigration Office
Upon
his arrest, Mr Louis was brought over to the Setia Tropika Immigration
Centre (STIC) and during his journey, he managed to use his mobile phone
to inform his family and friends of his arrest through Facebook before
the officials took away all his belongings including his phone, wallet,
cash, house keys, car keys and shoes.
In STIC, he was placed in an
over-crowded cell with 100 other detainees. The condition of the space
was extremely bad and he could only sleep on a “bare dirty floor beside a
foul-smelling squalid open toilet” before he was transferred to the
Pekan Nanas immigration camp the next morning.
When he was
transported handcuffed the next day to another detention centre, he was
kept in an eight-seater truck compartment with about 30 other detainees.
This then caused him to have breathing difficulties as he claims to be
claustrophobe and suffers from chronic asthma and heart diseases.
With
the help of other detainees, he was pushed to an open window in the
truck compartment to breathe fresh air, but got completely wet due to
the heavy rain that particular day.
Horrible cell condition
Mr
Louis claimed that he was detained for the next 36 days until 14
November 2018 and placed in a cell with about 130 people under a cramped
condition, although the cell should only house 50 people.
“The
condition was so horrifying and terrifying that ordinarily it would not
be expected that any human being would be kept under that condition. The
toilet was within the cell and was dirty and open. No clean water was
available for drinking. Food was provided in an unhygienic condition,”
said his statement of claim.
Adding to that, he mentioned that
basic necessities were not given to all detainees including mat, pillow,
blanket, footwear, toiletries like soap and towel, as well as change of
clothing. He also had to walk barefoot and slept on a dirty bare floor.
In
fact, he wore the same clothes for the first 14 days, and only got to
change his attire after he was brought over to his house so that the
immigration officers can look at a CCTV recording there.
As for
taking a shower, he only had one after the first 10 days as he managed
to purchase soap at an extremely high rate from an alleged
privately-operated store.
“A small bottle of drinking water cost
RM10. Purchase was limited by amount and time,” revealed his statement
of claim, adding that the payments were taken from his wallet kept by
immigration officers and from money given by visitors.
Since he
was viewed as a relatively rich person, other detainees also took
advantage of him and he had to buy items for them in order to avoid
being “disturbed or harmed”.
He also said he had to pay RM350 each
for three Indonesians for their ferry tickets as they didn’t have the
money to get hold of the tickets or were unable to get in touch with
their families to arrange for the tickets.
Besides that, Mr Arun
also noted that no lawyers were allowed to visit their clients, and
family and friends were only given limited access, forcing the lawyer to
enter the detention centre posing as Mr Louis’s friend.
Claiming
that seeking access to justice was denied by restrictions such as a
commissioner of oath not allowed to meet the Singaporean man to have him
affirm an affidavit for court purposes, the statement of claim
expressed that many other detainees did not communicate with anyone
outside for months.
“The condition of detention transgressed all
basic standards of detaining humans and was without regard to any
minimum standards of humanity and inflicted cruelty against humanity”.
Cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
Mr
Louis said that the treatment he received during his detention “falls
within the definition of torture and of cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment and punishment (CIDTP)” as defined under international
conventions. He added that it breaches Article 5 and 7(1) of the Federal
Constitution.
In Article 7(1), it is said that no any individual
should be punished for actions that were not punishable by law when it
was taken, and no one shall suffer greater punishment for an offence
than was prescribed by law at the time it was committed.
The
statement of claim also revealed that the Singaporean man had written to
the Immigration director-general on 1 November 2018 through his lawyers
but did not receive any reply, and had also filed a habeas corpus application at the High Court, about a week later (9 November).
However, he was released on 14 November with a seven-day special pass, just a day before his scheduled hearing for his habeas corpus application or challenge against his detention.
Upon his release, the man left Malaysia and his legal challenge was withdrawn because he had been released from detention.
Mr
Louis claimed that his detention was unlawful as there was allegedly no
valid reason for the arrest and no investigation was done for any
offence pressed or no charges pressed against him. He was also not
presented before any magistrate.
As such, he pointed out that his
arrest violated the Federal Constitution’s Article 5, which says that no
one is to be deprived of their personal liberty unless in accordance to
law, and that an individual who is arrested shall be told the reasons
of the arrest and be allowed to consult lawyers.
On the other
hand, Article 5(4) comes with a provision that an arrested non-Malaysian
cannot be detained more than 14 days without being brought before a
magistrate and with the magistrate’s authority, however a Malaysian has
to be produced before a magistrate without unreasonable delay within 24
hours.
Mr Louis also highlighted that infringes on the
Constitution’s Article 8(1) promise non-discrimination and equality for
all before the law.
As such, he argues that amendment that caused
different timeframe given to non-Malaysians shows that it is
unconstitutional and unlawful.
In the lawsuit, Mr Louis is seeking
a total of RM2.67 million, with RM840, 000 for damages over his
distress suffered during his arrest and throughout his detention, and
RM1.83 million in other exemplary damages.
He is also seeking a
declaration that he was projected to torture and treatment considered
CIDTP, and this treatment is prohibited under the Federal Constitution
particularly seen in Article 5 and 7. In addition, he also wants a
declaration that the amended constitutional clause that allows different
treatment for non-Malaysians is unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid.
The
lawsuit was filed in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on 28 May against
the Immigration Department of Malaysia’s director-general and the
Malaysian government. His lawyer also said that the court papers for the
lawsuit have been served on the Attorney General’s Chambers. - TOC, 12/6/2019
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