INDIANS BEING TORTURED: JELEBU PRISON
By: Thanu Hari
Jelebu,3rd May 2021: 22 Indian men detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) in 2019 pleaded for mercy. They demanded justice for their kin whom they said were assaulted and tortured in the prison. Families of the prison inmates have filed police reports after their imprisonment relatives claimed to have been abused while being quarantined at the Jelebu Prison in Negeri Sembilan.
A few members of the family held a press conference on 1st May, where they reported events told by their detained family members: (how they were purportedly beaten with plastic pipes, sticks, chairs, and other objects, as well as had their private parts pepper-sprayed)
Some said they were even contemplating suicide to end their desolation.
The family also expressed their fear of tragedy as Ganapathy, losing his life as allegedly beaten by the police with a rubber hose, and succumbed to his injuries at a Selayang hospital after spending a month.
“Chili spraying on the face occurred for a refusal to listen to the order of the prison officer. My brother-in-law asked for an explanation from the officer. There is no need to torture with solid objects without a proper justification. The detainees, aged in the range of 20 to 45 could only do a handful to protect themselves as they were handcuffed”, said Teh.
Teh also added that the beating went on for over an hour, adding that after that, the 22 men were ordered to enter a room, undress, and expose their buttocks after which the pepper spray was again allegedly used and sprayed on their genitals.
After that the officer ordered the detainees to lie on the floor, naked, and ordered them to place their hands on their backs while lying down. After all the detainees entered the room, they were punished non-stop from 5 pm till 8 pm. My brother-in-law and the other detainees had no means inside the Jelebu Prison to report the matter to their families.
“Detainees are given only painkillers and not treatment”, Teh claimed.
“My life is in dark ever since. I was three months pregnant when he was caught and until now he is not back. In Jelebu they beat him up brutally. They beat him until he’s back bled”, said R.Laviniya, spouse of Kalaiarasan.
“Won’t I get justice for all these? My husband told me he would die inside the prison as they beat him so badly. When I met him the other day, his hands were bloody and there were pipe marks on his back. I was so upset,” Laviniya said, breaking down uncontrollably.
Rosni Kassim, whose son Nasaruddin Abdullah is among the 22, also pleaded to be allowed to see her son, saying that she has yet to see him since he was caught in 2019.
“Before this, his friends and their parents went to see him and said that Nasaruddin was beaten but I could not see him. Although I went to Jelebu and made a report I still could not see my son.
“I wanted to see my son but I could not. His wife just gave birth five months ago and he has never seen his child. I don’t know why they put him there but I definitely want to see my son regardless of whether his wounds are small or huge. I definitely want to see my son,” Rosni said, also breaking down later.
Thulasi’s husband, S. Navinraj, was caught by the police merely three months into their marriage.
“They kept him there for 14 days saying it’s for quarantine. It is usually 14 days only but until now they have not released him from the Jelebu Prison. I have been calling the Jelebu Prison continuously but they repeatedly not granting approval letters for my visitation.
“I fear thinking what situation is he in. Everyone is saying that many got beaten badly. I am afraid my husband might be in a worse condition as I am not able to see him,” she said, adding that Navinraj was the only one supporting her and her father, before he was caught in December 2019.
For S. Athiletchumy, it was akin to double jeopardy, as both her sons, S. Ravikumar and Karthik were detained and taken away.
“Yesterday Karthik called and said that he was beaten and had his fingers broken and asked if I had already lodged a report about what happened to him. He said his head was aching badly as he was badly beaten.
“He said despite his fingers being broken, he has yet to be brought to a hospital,” she added.
In the press conference, the media members were informed that only one of the 22 detainees was admitted to the hospital, as he had developed tuberculosis.
Another mother V. Muniammah broke down when detailing her story, adding that her son, G. Kartik Rajah who was detained, did not have any prior police record.
“I don’t know why he was caught. He was fine before, then they took him to Jelebu [Prison] and beat him badly. There are markings on his body. They sprayed [chili] on his penis. He said he cannot urinate and defecate. When he takes his shower, his body burns.
“Please find a solution to this case. They kept saying remand and one and a half years have passed by,” she said, adding that her son is still being investigated to date.
Muniammah said that she is hopeful that her son will be released, adding that the only time she could see him was when he was being ferried to the court in a police transport lorry.
“We want our children back. When we heard about Ganapathy’s case, we got very scared that our kids might end up like him,” she added.
NGO called Sebaran Kasih, led by Pastor Prince Jon from the The King’s Tabernacle church in Cheras, is the one arranged the press conference
Prince Jon told the press that the family members have engaged lawyers, however, the next hearing for the case is only scheduled for August this year.
“So it’s a long time period and the families only got to know about their ordeal after two weeks. more than that actually. So it’s another few months down the road for them to even appeal,” he said, adding that half of the men have already been brought back to the Sungai Udang Prison in Melaka.
“So what we are seeing here, we don’t want another death to happen to anyone. The Indians are the minority in our nation.
“The Indians are being abused. They have not been taken care of and being mistreated in prisons. Most of the deaths, based on what we have checked, involve Indians. Even though we are the minority, we are still Malaysians. We still come under the same government, we still have our rights. Our nationality is Malaysian so we ought to receive the same treatment as others,” Prince Jon said.
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