Injured detainee denied medical care, claims wife

comments     Roshan Jason     Published     Updated

The wife of a man who has been detained by police for about six weeks is pleading with prison authorities to provide her husband with proper medical attention for a broken leg and other injuries.

K Saraswathy, 26 said that, when she visited her husband at the Sungai Buloh prison yesterday, it was evident that no medical treatment had been provided for his broken leg, cut eyebrow and damaged eye.

"His leg was badly swollen, but the prison wardens told me they had lost his medicine ... for the second time," she told malaysiakini by telephone.

"Why are they treating him like that? He is not even a convicted criminal."

Saraswathy and her husband, R Ravindran, 27, had been arrested outside a cinema on June 11 in Sungai Way, Selangor, on suspicion of committing a robbery.

Police released Saraswathy on June 22 but later charged Ravindran with attempting to escape from custody while warded at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) in Kuala Lumpur. They attributed his injuries to the abortive escape.

'Dragged to station'

Saraswathy said she had sent a letter on July 22, through her lawyer P Uthayakumar, to Sungai Buloh prison director Hassan Sakimon. This was after her first visit to her husband on July 19 revealed his neglected condition.

She said her letter highlighted the fact that the dressing for Ravindran's broken leg had not been changed for over a week.

"His face was swollen and his right eye was blue black. He complained of headaches. Since he had not been given crutches or a wheelchair, he was forced him to hop on one leg every time he had to go to the toilet," she said.

This has resulted in him falling down numerous times and aggravating his condition, she claimed.

Relating how they were arrested, Saraswathy said they were waiting to watch a movie when a plainclothes policeman walked up to Ravindran and asked him if his name was 'Kannan', which he denied.

She said the policeman than dragged them to the Sungai Way police station nearby and arrested them on suspicion of robbery before assaulting Ravindran.

"I went down on my knees, begging the policeman to stop beating my husband, but he verbally abused me," said Saraswathy, who has since lost her job. She and her husband worked as dishwashers at the same restaurant.

Claims 'incomprehensible'

Uthayakumar said he would send a reminder to the prison director to urge him to take Ravindran's case seriously and provide him with the necessary medical care.

"He should be placed in a hospital where he can be cared for by professionals until his condition improves," Uthayakumar said at his office.

He added that it was inconceivable that Ravindran has not been given medical attention even at the prison hospital.

"He's in bad shape and his wife is very concerned that he might lose his leg if he is denied medical care," he said.

Saying that the offence for which the couple had been arrested was unclear, the lawyer also described as "incomprehensible" the claims by the police that Ravindran had tried to escape from the UMMC.

"Ravindran was admitted to the hospital after he had swallowed glass pieces in protest of his wife's detention," he said.

"He was heavily drugged and groggy. The police claimed he jumped from the seventh floor and landed on the fifth floor but he has no recollection of trying to escape."

Uthayakumar claimed that a magistrate was taken to the hospital to enable Ravindran to be charged without his wife or any family members being informed.

"Ravindran could not afford legal representation and neither was any legal aid provided to him. It's absurd that this man will be languishing in jail for a long time for reasons that are unclear," he said.

"There seems to be no justice for people who are poor and illiterate. This is a gross injustice to people at the grassroots."

The Kuala Lumpur magistrate's court has set Sept 2 for mention of a case against Ravindran for the alleged attempt to escape from custody.



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