In this two-part interview with FMT, a former inmate shares his experience of having endured five years in the infamous prison.
PETALING JAYA: When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. The timeless adage may not strike a chord with some, but for those who have endured trying times, it brings strength when hope becomes a luxury.
In a recent interview with FMT, a former Simpang Rengam inmate revealed how being detained under the Emergency Ordinance (EO) changed his perspective of life and taught him to appreciate the little blessings.
Suresh (not his real name), 31, hails from Puchong. His body is covered with tattoos and his eyes flickered with sadness as he recalled his experience while sipping on a steaming cup of teh-tarik.
In 2003, Suresh’s life took a drastic turn when he was remanded for seven days at the Brickfields police station in connection with a murder case.
Relating his ordeal, the car repossessor said that it was “Deepavali every day”, alluding to the beatings he received in the lock-up.
“They wanted me to confess to the murder, so they beat me. That’s normal, everyone who goes in gets beaten with rubber hoses, boots, batons and everything else.
“They also forced me to drink grounded cili padi (bird’s eye chillies) mixed with water. Even when I think about it now, I can remember how my throat and stomach burned,” he said.
When his seven-day remand expired, Suresh said that he was taken on a “roadshow” whereby he was remanded at various places – Petaling Jaya, Puchong, Sentul, Ipoh and Johor – for 48 days.
“I knew they were going to send me to Simpang, and just as I suspected, in June, I was re-arrested under the EO and sent to the Taman Tun Dr Ismail police station for 60 days.”
Suresh said that just before the 60-day initial detention period ended, several police officers asked him to confess again, and he refused.
Following this, he was sent to Simpang Rengam with five others in August.
Playing the beating game
Upon arriving at the prison, Suresh said the police piled up 36 cases and spread them among the five.
“My share was 10 cases. I admitted being involved in two, but the rest, I have never even heard of them or the places where the crimes were said to have happened.”
After reading out the charges, the Unit Kawalan Penjara (UKP) instructed the new detainees to salute them before entering their respective cells.
“But one of the guys did not salute and because of him, all five of us got a beating on our palms with the baton. My palms were swollen for three days and I could not even sign my detention papers.”
Beatings, he said, were a common occurrence in Simpang Rengam and sometimes the prison authorities did it to kill time.
“On some occasions, they would give us cigarettes and drinks before beating us with canes dipped in boiling water. You just have to get used to the beatings.”
“If there is a fight among detainees, the UKP would beat everyone, regardless of whether you are involved or not.
“Even if there were no fights, the prison officers would instigate us, for instance like not putting salt in our food, serving food on unclean trays or even put a cockroach in our food.”
After a month in Simpang Rengam, Suresh said the prison board consisting of three magistrates, two officers from Bukit Aman, a lawyer from the Legal Aid Bureau and the prison warden, met him and asked him how he would plea to the crime of manslaughter.
“Of course I denied the charge, and they asked me again the following week, and I told them the same answer. The board never called me again. I even wrote a letter of appeal to them, but I did not receive a response.”
Trip to the icebox
Speaking about life in Simpang Rengam, Suresh said the detainees had to be ready for the roll-call at 7.30am every morning.
“We will be given breakfast at 8am. Then we would head to a workshop to do some carpentry and handicraft work. Lunch was served at noon and after that we were allowed to mingle with others.
“We would normally just chat or watch television. Once a month, we get to watch a DVD.”
Dinner, he added, was served 3.30pm and a bun was given for supper. At 6pm, the detainees had to head back to their cells.
Asked what was his worst experience, Suresh replied: “Definitely, the ‘ice box’.”
He then explained that the “ice box” was a cramped, dark and damp isolation cell where an errant detainee would be locked up for 14 days.
“For the first three days, we would only only get two meals; three slices of bread and stale milk for both breakfast and dinner. Those were the times I used to yearn for real food.”
He was also only allowed one bucket of water into his cell daily and that is the water he had to use for washing, bathing and drinking.
“The cement floor would be really cold because there’s water running underneath, and that’s why it’s called the ‘ice box’. You can go mad inside there.
“Many times, I could not even remember my name,” he said, adding that he had been locked up in the “ice box” three times during his five years in Simpang Rengam.
Suresh also recalled how prison guards would sometimes wake up the detainees in the wee hours of the morning to carry out checks on their cells.
“When we ask them why they do this, they would say it’s part of the rehabilitation,” he said.
However, he remembered that there was one Malay officer who was kind to them, and often brought them things.
“The officer used to bring us books, prayer items and other small things for us,” he said.
PETALING JAYA: When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. The timeless adage may not strike a chord with some, but for those who have endured trying times, it brings strength when hope becomes a luxury.In a recent interview with FMT, a former Simpang Rengam inmate revealed how being detained under the Emergency Ordinance (EO) changed his perspective of life and taught him to appreciate the little blessings.
Suresh (not his real name), 31, hails from Puchong. His body is covered with tattoos and his eyes flickered with sadness as he recalled his experience while sipping on a steaming cup of teh-tarik.
In 2003, Suresh’s life took a drastic turn when he was remanded for seven days at the Brickfields police station in connection with a murder case.
Relating his ordeal, the car repossessor said that it was “Deepavali every day”, alluding to the beatings he received in the lock-up.
“They wanted me to confess to the murder, so they beat me. That’s normal, everyone who goes in gets beaten with rubber hoses, boots, batons and everything else.
“They also forced me to drink grounded cili padi (bird’s eye chillies) mixed with water. Even when I think about it now, I can remember how my throat and stomach burned,” he said.
When his seven-day remand expired, Suresh said that he was taken on a “roadshow” whereby he was remanded at various places – Petaling Jaya, Puchong, Sentul, Ipoh and Johor – for 48 days.
“I knew they were going to send me to Simpang, and just as I suspected, in June, I was re-arrested under the EO and sent to the Taman Tun Dr Ismail police station for 60 days.”
Suresh said that just before the 60-day initial detention period ended, several police officers asked him to confess again, and he refused.
Following this, he was sent to Simpang Rengam with five others in August.
Playing the beating game
Upon arriving at the prison, Suresh said the police piled up 36 cases and spread them among the five.
“My share was 10 cases. I admitted being involved in two, but the rest, I have never even heard of them or the places where the crimes were said to have happened.”
After reading out the charges, the Unit Kawalan Penjara (UKP) instructed the new detainees to salute them before entering their respective cells.
“But one of the guys did not salute and because of him, all five of us got a beating on our palms with the baton. My palms were swollen for three days and I could not even sign my detention papers.”
Beatings, he said, were a common occurrence in Simpang Rengam and sometimes the prison authorities did it to kill time.
“On some occasions, they would give us cigarettes and drinks before beating us with canes dipped in boiling water. You just have to get used to the beatings.”
“If there is a fight among detainees, the UKP would beat everyone, regardless of whether you are involved or not.
“Even if there were no fights, the prison officers would instigate us, for instance like not putting salt in our food, serving food on unclean trays or even put a cockroach in our food.”
After a month in Simpang Rengam, Suresh said the prison board consisting of three magistrates, two officers from Bukit Aman, a lawyer from the Legal Aid Bureau and the prison warden, met him and asked him how he would plea to the crime of manslaughter.
“Of course I denied the charge, and they asked me again the following week, and I told them the same answer. The board never called me again. I even wrote a letter of appeal to them, but I did not receive a response.”
Trip to the icebox
Speaking about life in Simpang Rengam, Suresh said the detainees had to be ready for the roll-call at 7.30am every morning.
“We will be given breakfast at 8am. Then we would head to a workshop to do some carpentry and handicraft work. Lunch was served at noon and after that we were allowed to mingle with others.
“We would normally just chat or watch television. Once a month, we get to watch a DVD.”
Dinner, he added, was served 3.30pm and a bun was given for supper. At 6pm, the detainees had to head back to their cells.
Asked what was his worst experience, Suresh replied: “Definitely, the ‘ice box’.”
He then explained that the “ice box” was a cramped, dark and damp isolation cell where an errant detainee would be locked up for 14 days.
“For the first three days, we would only only get two meals; three slices of bread and stale milk for both breakfast and dinner. Those were the times I used to yearn for real food.”
He was also only allowed one bucket of water into his cell daily and that is the water he had to use for washing, bathing and drinking.
“The cement floor would be really cold because there’s water running underneath, and that’s why it’s called the ‘ice box’. You can go mad inside there.
“Many times, I could not even remember my name,” he said, adding that he had been locked up in the “ice box” three times during his five years in Simpang Rengam.
Suresh also recalled how prison guards would sometimes wake up the detainees in the wee hours of the morning to carry out checks on their cells.
“When we ask them why they do this, they would say it’s part of the rehabilitation,” he said.
However, he remembered that there was one Malay officer who was kind to them, and often brought them things.
“The officer used to bring us books, prayer items and other small things for us,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment