Deputy Home Minister Wan Fairuz Wan Salleh said 1,531 custodial deaths were recorded between 2003 and 2007. However, Malaysia's 2007 death record was ‘so much better than the one in Britain'.

"In 2007, Britain had recorded 183 deaths. In this country, only three custodial deaths were reported in the same year," he said, responding to an oral question from M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat).

The DAP parliamentarian had asked the deputy minister why fatalities kept occurring at police lock-ups, prisons, drug rehabilitation centres and detention centres for illegal immigrants. Kulasegaran also wanted to know the follow-up measures to overcome the matter.

Wan Fairuz told the House that the amount recorded by the Prisons Department included deaths in prisons, drug rehabilitation centres and detention centres for illegal immigrants, adding that 85 deaths occurred in police custody in the same period.

He further explained that the 77 out of 85 deaths that had occurred in police custody were caused by infections and diseases.

"(Besides that) seven had committed suicide and one died in a fight with his cellmate."

"600 deaths were recorded in drug rehabilitation centres in the same period," said Wan Fairuz

Causes of deaths

The deputy minister also revealed that one police officer had been sentenced to a six-year jail term in Oct 27, 2004, along with seven detainees for causing the death of a detainee in police custody.

Wan Fairuz said the other causes of deaths included HIV/AIDS, septicaemia , pulmonary tuberculosis, cancer, heart failure, asthma and other infectious diseases.

Deaths in custody have become one of the major grievances of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) especially the alleged custodial death of Francis Udayyapan in the Brickfields police station in 2004.