Officials from the United Nations and the Human Rights Commission, or Suhakam, clarified that they had not visited any Sabah immigration detention camps as reported by a local daily today.

According to a report in the New Straits Times , Federal Special Task Force director for Sabah Mohd Ghazali Ahmad said officials from the two agencies and the Philippine government had visited the three Sabah camps in Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Tawau and found them to be satisfactory.

"Officials from the UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) visited the centres and they were satisfied with what they saw," Mohd Ghazali was quoted as saying.

According to him, representatives from Suhakam and the Philippine government had also visited the camps and none of them complained about the condition and treatment given to the detainees.

However, UNHCR protection officer Shinji Kubo said the report was likely to be a "mistake", while a Suhakam official said the report was "wrong".

"They must have a reason to say something like that. We have had close cooperation with Sabah authorities in terms of training but this does not include any investigation of conditions in the camps," said Kubo during a telephone interview.