Bukit Gelugor member of parliament Karpal Singh has urged the federal government to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry, with terms of reference to enquire into the "deplorable" condition of lock-ups and prisons nationwide.

NONE He said the state of affairs involving lock-ups required immediate attention and rectification as suspects should be denied such deplorable treatment.

"The lock-up located at the seventh floor of Ibu Pejabat Polis Kontingen (city police contingent headquarters) in Kuala Lumpur, in which (Opposition Leader) Anwar Ibrahim was detained on July 16, 2008, clearly reflects the deplorable conditions of such lock-ups throughout the country," he told reporters in Georgetown today.

Karpal, who is also DAP national chairman, said toilets at lock-ups were "not fit for humans".

NONE To compound the situation, the toilets were in the immediate vicinity of the area in which suspects slept on the cement floor, he noted

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He described another lock-up at the Gombak police station as not fit for human habitation as suspects were made to lie on the cement floor in batches of five, without mattresses or blankets.

- Bernama