The Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission (EAIC) has refuted the claims by rapper Namewee about deplorable conditions at the Bayan Baru police station lock-up in Penang.

Namewee, whose full name is Wee Meng Chee, was held for four days in late August at the Bayan Baru lock-up after being arrested for his controversial music video 'Oh My God'.

On his release, he took to Facebook to reveal allegedly deplorable conditions at the lock-up, and expressed fear that the 15 Myanmar detainees also held there may die while in custody.

Following Namewee's claims, EAIC said that it made a surprise visit to the Bayan Baru lock-up and found his claims to be untrue.

"EAIC confirms that the allegations by Namewee against the Bayan Baru police station lock-up are untrue and baseless.

"EAIC is also satisfied with the management of the lock-up, which is being run satisfactorily and according to the standard operating procedures of the the Royal Malaysian Police's Lock-Up Management 2014," EAIC chairperson Yaacob Md Sam said in a statement today.

Yaacob said that they examined the CCTV recording and found that the rapper was only placed in a holding cell with 12 other detainees for less than two hours.

Namewee was placed in the cell at 4.53pm with seven Myanmar and five Nepal detainees, and at 6.45pm, all 12 of the detainees were removed and placed in a different cell, he said.

"This action was taken by the authorities specifically for Namewee's comfort.

"After that, for the rest of his remand period, from 6.45pm on Aug 22 to 7.14am on Aug 25, Namewee was alone in the same cell," Yaacob explained.

Not only that, he said, their surprise visit showed that the Bayan Baru lock-up cells were in a satisfactory condition.

'30-day detention claim also not true'

The claim that the Myanmar detainees were detained for more than 30 days are also not true, he said.

The EAIC investigations team checked the arrest record and found that the 12 detainees whom Namewee was initially placed with were arrested on Aug 13, 2016 and their arrest period ended on Aug 26, 2016.

“As such, these facts refute Namewee's claims that there were Myanmar detainees who were locked up for more than 30 days.

"This is because, on the date Namewee was put in the same cell (as the other detainees) on Aug 22, the Myanmar citizens had only been arrested for nine days," Yaacob explained.

EAIC's examination of the CCTV recording also revealed that these foreigners seemed to be in normal health, without any unusual incidents.

"Hence, the claims by Namewee that the detainees placed with him were in bad health and there are those who may die without medical treatment are baseless and mere assumptions," he added.

Penang police chief Abdul Ghafar Rajab has also denied Namewee's allegations, and said that if the rapper was sincere, then he should lodge a police report.

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar later said that the police would look into Namewee's claims, regardless of whether a report was lodged.