Jerald Joseph said that during a recent visit to Sabah, Suhakam commissioners met a former staff of Tawau prison who admitted that he and his colleagues had beaten up inmates.

“He said they did it to relieve work stress due to overcrowding at the prison,” he said.

He told the Regional Conference on Prison Reform that this should not, however, be an excuse to abuse prisoners.

Joseph said the problem of prison overcrowding had even resulted in a shortage of water supply in prisons.

“The water supply infrastructure in prisons cannot accommodate the increased number of prisoners. In Kajang prison, for example, prisoner capacity has increased from 2,500 to 5,000.”

Calling for urgent prison reform, he lamented the lack of interest shown by the public, and their elected representatives, in prison reform.

“The rehabilitative justice system has yet to spark a conversation in this country,” he said.

Joseph called for a “whole of society” approach where government agencies, NGOs, the private sector and the media must play their roles in creating public awareness on the importance of giving a second chance to prisoners.

The conference was co-organised by Suhakam and the Southeast Asia National Human Rights Institution Forum.