Hindraf leader P Uthayakumar says he has
contracted scabies due to unhygienic conditions at the Kajang Prison,
and appeals to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Home Minister Zahid
Hamidi to intervene in the matter.
He said the disease has afflicted several areas of his body - including his hands, legs, and buttocks - after being quarantined within the death row chambers for eight days from Jan 15, causing sleepless nights and bleeding from having scratched the infected skin.
“In the circumstances, I hereby urge your good selves to make a surprise visit to Kajang Prison.
“I would be more than happy to show your good selves the dirty blocks, the victims and the other prison abuses and shortcomings as per my complaints in the Official Request books,” he wrote in a letter to the duo, dated Jan 25.
The
letter was also sent to Prison Department director-general Zulkifli
Omar, and had been made available to media by his family.
In the letter, Uthayakumar (right) claimed that the scabies had afflicted some 30 percent of Kajang prisoners - naming several of them - and pointed out that the disease had also spread to the private parts of a prisoner at an adjacent cell.
“I dread thinking of Subramaniam (28) of Ayer Tawar, Perak who in 2006 died of septicaemia (blood poisoning) arising from scabies at the Air Molek Prison.
“On behalf of the family (of Subramaniam), I had filed a civil suit - but as usual - which was struck off. Now I myself do not want to be part of these statistics! Please Mr. Prime Minister, we are dealing with human lives here,” he pleaded.
Scabies is a disease characterised by intense itching and allergic reactions, caused by microscopic mites burrowing under the skin.
‘Why the eight-day quarantine?’
Uthayakumar, who had been sentenced to two-and-a-half years’ jail time for a conviction under the Sedition Act last June, was already afflicted by chronic diseases prior to his imprisonment.
These include diabetes, arthritis, and a prolapsed disc in his spine.
Uthayakumar also questioned the necessity of placing him under an eight-day quarantine, whereas Kajang Prison regulations - displayed at its entrance - stipulate only three days.
“If the smuggling-in of drugs and tobacco is the reason, why not a simple portable X-ray machine costing a mere RM8,000?” he said.
In addition, he noted that the prison conditions would have been better if the prison director and the prison doctor had inspected the prisons regularly, as stipulated by the same regulations.
“Almost all the prisoners had never seen the director or the doctor in their prison blocks, let alone ever having seen the director - (which is) pertinent because he is the prison’s CEO,” he said.
He claims that under Regulation 203, the prison director is supposed to inspect the prison at least once a day, and that the doctor is expected to make “periodic visits” under Regulation 236.
He said the disease has afflicted several areas of his body - including his hands, legs, and buttocks - after being quarantined within the death row chambers for eight days from Jan 15, causing sleepless nights and bleeding from having scratched the infected skin.
“In the circumstances, I hereby urge your good selves to make a surprise visit to Kajang Prison.
“I would be more than happy to show your good selves the dirty blocks, the victims and the other prison abuses and shortcomings as per my complaints in the Official Request books,” he wrote in a letter to the duo, dated Jan 25.
The
letter was also sent to Prison Department director-general Zulkifli
Omar, and had been made available to media by his family.In the letter, Uthayakumar (right) claimed that the scabies had afflicted some 30 percent of Kajang prisoners - naming several of them - and pointed out that the disease had also spread to the private parts of a prisoner at an adjacent cell.
“I dread thinking of Subramaniam (28) of Ayer Tawar, Perak who in 2006 died of septicaemia (blood poisoning) arising from scabies at the Air Molek Prison.
“On behalf of the family (of Subramaniam), I had filed a civil suit - but as usual - which was struck off. Now I myself do not want to be part of these statistics! Please Mr. Prime Minister, we are dealing with human lives here,” he pleaded.
Scabies is a disease characterised by intense itching and allergic reactions, caused by microscopic mites burrowing under the skin.
‘Why the eight-day quarantine?’
Uthayakumar, who had been sentenced to two-and-a-half years’ jail time for a conviction under the Sedition Act last June, was already afflicted by chronic diseases prior to his imprisonment.
These include diabetes, arthritis, and a prolapsed disc in his spine.
Uthayakumar also questioned the necessity of placing him under an eight-day quarantine, whereas Kajang Prison regulations - displayed at its entrance - stipulate only three days.
“If the smuggling-in of drugs and tobacco is the reason, why not a simple portable X-ray machine costing a mere RM8,000?” he said.
In addition, he noted that the prison conditions would have been better if the prison director and the prison doctor had inspected the prisons regularly, as stipulated by the same regulations.
“Almost all the prisoners had never seen the director or the doctor in their prison blocks, let alone ever having seen the director - (which is) pertinent because he is the prison’s CEO,” he said.
He claims that under Regulation 203, the prison director is supposed to inspect the prison at least once a day, and that the doctor is expected to make “periodic visits” under Regulation 236.
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