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Saturday, 7 March 2009

Uthayakumar: I've never refused medication

Hindraf leader and ISA detainee P Uthayakumar has made a hand-written report at the Kamunting police station refuting a press report that he did not take his medicines while in detention.

In the report, he dismissed the news report in the New Straits Times titled "Refused Treatment, Medicine 18 Times" published on March 3 as based on 'a false police report or false media statement'.

"I wish to state here that from the day I was arrested and detained here on December 13, 2007 up to the day of this police report, I have been taking my diabetic tablets and other medication except when the same was denied to me by the Kemta Prison authorities in early 2008.

uthayakumar sedition trial 201008 02“To prove this, I invite the police to come to my prison block in Kemta Prison @ Malaysia's Guantanamo Bay to check for themselves, verify and confirm the hundreds of empty diabetic and other medicine shells."

He also dared the police to check and verify the prison diary for his requests for medicine every week.

According to Uthayakumar, he has been requesting for private medical treatment at Gleneagles Hospital because he had lost confidence in government hospitals.

Citing A Kugan's suspicious post-mortem as an example, he remarked that he was fearful of the Special Branch interfering with government hospital doctors and medical reports to cover up the true and accurate state of his health.

"The numerous affidavits by these doctors in my High Court case and my two previous police reports dated Feb 2 and Feb 6 made through my family and myself are evidence."

He also said that despite his complaints about the uneven road surface and potholes which have caused his injuries, nothing had been done to repair the conditions in his prison block or shift him to a better location.

'They're trying to kill me'

In addition, he alleged that he was served sugar added bread everyday, and urged the police to confiscate them before evidence is wiped out, saying, "I can't help but think that the home minister and government of Malaysia are trying to kill me in prison for political reasons.

I also want my new found silent heart condition (hypnokinetic) to be checked. I also need to consult a specialist cardiologist on whether I need to start taking aspirin and high blood pressure medication arising out of these depressive prison conditions.

"Should anything happen to me in prison, the home minister and the government of Malaysia are responsible."

In another letter, directed to Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar from Uthayakumar's lawyers Edwin Lim and N Surendran, the lawyers alleged that he had received different reports from two doctors for the same condition.

The letter was written to appeal for Uthayakumar's release so that he could seek independent medical treatment.

According to the letter, the lawyers stated that Uthayakumar was finally allowed to seek treatment at Taiping General Hospital where he took an X-Ray on his left toe after 18 days of police reports, public protests and numerous requests made to the Kemta Prison authorities..

The X-Ray results showed that he had three toe fractures, compared to an earlier report prepared at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital which showed only one toe fracture.

Unfortunately, the doctor at Taiping General Hospital could not verify if his toe had healed in 18 days as he did not have the original X-Ray taken at Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

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