Eleven detainees died in police lockups, while the remaining 13 either died while on the way to hospital or were being treated at one, the home ministry said in a written reply.

In 2021, the home ministry said there were 46 custodial deaths of which 14 occurred in lockups, Bernama reported.

The ministry was responding to a question from Zahari Kechik (PN-Jeli) who wanted to know the number of deaths in custody for 2021 and 2022.

On the government’s efforts to curb such incidents, the ministry said it was currently preparing a comprehensive amendment to the 1953 lockup rules to ensure better management of lockups and detainees.

Separately, the ministry revealed that a total of 367 cases were investigated for sedition from 2018 to 2022.

Some 117 cases were investigated in 2020, the highest number of cases in the five years.

Five of the cases have been tried in court, it said, adding that three ended in convictions while the other two were still ongoing.