Six prisoners were seriously injured after being allegedly assaulted by prison guards at the Sungai Buloh prison yesterday.

Human rights group Suaram claimed that a total of 20 prisoners were assaulted but prison authorities could not be reached for comment despite numerous attempts.

However, one of the persons who answered the telephone told Malaysiakini that her superiors will not comment on the matter as it is still under investigation.

sungai buloh prison 120609 01 Suaram cooridinator Tah Moon Hui said sources told the rights group that the 20 prisoners were handcuffed and assaulted by about 10 prison guards.

He also alleged that 14 injured prisoners were denied medical treatment.

A relative of one of the alleged victims, who requested anonymity, said prison authorities had denied him access to his cousin when he went to the Sungai Buloh prison this morning.

"They had a list of 20 names at the entrance. Once they found out that I was there to see one of them, the guards said that I was not allowed to see him," he said when contacted.

Suaram is urging the Prisons Department to immediately provide medical attention to the injured prisoners and urged the government to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry to probe the matter.

MIC filed police report

MIC Youth chief T Mohan urged the government to establish an independent committee to probe the incident.

sri lankan war victims fund 03062009 t mohan "The committee must suggest steps so that incidents like this would not recur in the future.

"MIC Youth also stresses that the law, in particular the Prison Act, must be followed at all time when handling prisoners," he said in a statement.

According to Mohan, the alleged assault occurred between 2pm to 5pm yesterday.

“We want the incident to be investigated thoroughly and if any wrongdoing is found on the part of the prison guards, they must be brought to face justice,” said Mohan.

sungai buloh prison 120609 02 In another development, Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) member N Siva Subramaniam said a team comprising of himself and other commissioners would be visiting the prison and Sungai Buloh hospital on Monday.

"We take this allegations very seriously. Any excessive use of force cannot be condoned, even if the inmates commit any form of indiscipline," he said when contacted late this evening.

Earlier today, Suaram's Tah had submitted a memorandum at the Suhakam headquarters in Kuala Lumpur urging the human rights watchdog to probe the matter.

Cover up attempt?

Meanwhile, MIC Youth representatives have lodged a police report at the Sentul district police headquarters, urging them to probe the incident.

MIC Youth Social and Welfare Bureau chief S Subramaniam told reporters after lodging the report that there appeared to be a cover up attempt by the prison authorities.

sg buloh prison assault mic police report 120609 subramaniam (white shirt) He said that family members of the victims were unable to obtain any information from the prison authorities nor were they allowed to visit the injured.

"If the prison authorities have no guilty conscience, they would be more forthcoming with information," said MIC's Subramaniam ( photo, right ).

"It appears that they are covering up since the family are not allowed to visit those injured. We hope that the police and the Home Ministry will tack the appropriate actions," he added.

On how he received information about the assault, Subramaniam said MIC Youth had been contacted by families of four victims.