A Kajang prison inmate has claimed that he was a victim of "exploitation and cheap labour" when he suffered injuries to his finger due to dangerous work he had to perform in a nearby factory.

Inmate T Palani Murugan, 28, said he lost an inch of his right index finger on Nov 28 while working in a mattress factory in Balakong, Selangor.

Palani made the claim in a statement which was released at a press conference called by DAP Selangor legal advisor M Manoharan in Kuala Lumpur today.

The inmate revealed that he was requested to work on a mattress compressor when the incident occurred. He said three other inmates also suffered similar injuries while working in the same factory.

"I have told the prison officers that I don't like to work there. I prefer to work as a cook in the prison but they managed to convince me by saying that I can earn more by working in the factory," he said in a statement.

"I told a corporal in the prison that I am scared of working in the factory as it is dangerous but was told that if I stop, disciplinary action would be taken against me." he added.

Stop work

Palani said he was uncertain whether he would be able to claim from Socso (Social Security Organisation) or EPF (Employees Provident Fund) to compensate for his pain.

However, he said he was informed by prison authorities that he would be getting insurance claim and consolation money upon his release, in March next year. He has since stopped working in the factory.

Palani is peeved that the prison authorities did not inform his family about his injuries but was instead told to write a letter, which he could not, as his finger was injured.

Palani is serving a two-year jail term in Kajang since October last year under the Dangerous Drugs Act and Penal Code for drug addiction and possession of a stolen car.

He worked as a lorry driver before he was detained, has been married for nearly two years and has a one-year old child.

Due to good behavior, Palani was asked to work in the factory since September. His daily wage is RM8.50, out of which RM5.00 is contributed to a prison fund.

It is learnt that it is normal practice for prisons to organise work outside the prison for inmates. Some attend workshops to harness their skills in order to help them find employment after they have served their sentence.

Bad memories

Commenting on the issue, Manoharan (photo) said the incident has belied the principles of prison detention, which serves as a deterrent to committing more crimes, or as a rehabilitation.

"But in this case, this prison inmate has been forced to do work against his will. When he comes out of prison, he is badly injured and is bound to have bad memories," he said.

"While getting prison inmates to work may be legal, it is however another form of capitalising on cheap labour. Moreover, as they are not trained or skilled to handle certain work, particularly those considered dangerous, it is wrong for the authorities to force them to undertake them?" he said.

"Who is benefitting from all this [cheap labour]? If it is the government's idea, then such exploitation must stop," he added.

Selangor DAP committee member T Kannan (photo), who was also present at the press conference, called on the home ministry to hold an inquiry into the incident.

Kannan, who is a lawyer, said it was the government's role to protect the inmates as prisoners "are also human beings and have rights".

He added that the family would be suing the government and the company for negligence, aggravated and exemplary damages.

"When we met Palani, he told us that he does not want the same incident to happen to others", Kannan said..

Also present were Palani's wife, daughter and parents, DAP Selangor committee member and head of squatter and estate committee bureau S Ramakrishnan.

Prison authorities were unavailable for comments today.