KOTA KINABALU - Sabah Immigration Department refutes claims of abusing its detainees by denying them access to food and medical supplies as purported in a recent viral video, depicting a detainee who is all skin and bones.
Department Director Sharifah Sitti Saleha Habib Yusof stated that the detention and management of detainees adhered to the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Immigration Regulations (Administration and Management of Immigration Depot) 2003.
"All detainees are ensured of appropriate treatment and management, both in terms of food supply and medical treatment.
"Based on the viral video, it was found that the physical condition of the detainees had been exploited by certain parties," she said in a statement today.
She added that the majority of detainees at the depot are individuals who have completed their sentences based on the provisions of the country's laws for being involved in various unhealthy activities.
"These detainees then were transferred to Immigration Malaysia, Sabah, after serving their sentences for the purpose of repatriating them back to their home country.
"The Immigration Depot is also a place to detain foreigners under investigations and to determine their actual citizenship status before repatriating them to their country of origin.
"This process will only be possible after getting confirmation from the respective country’s embassy.
"Once confirmation is received, the embassy will issue related travel documents (Travel Document for Philippines citizens or Travel Document in Lieu of a Passport for Indonesians) as proof that they are the citizens," she said.
Sharifah added that in 2022 the repatriation of Filipino detainees detained at the Sabah Immigration Depot only started on Sept 6 due to the closure of the Philippines borders, especially the Zamboanga Port, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"As of Dec 9, 2022, Immigration Malaysia Sabah has relocated or transferred a total of 3,004 Filipino detainees, 2,166 Indonesian detainees and 224 other national detainees making a total of 5,394 detainees who have completed their sentences for various offences and received confirmation from the respective embassy," she said.
She advised the public not to issue any statement or spread any material on any platform to avoid speculation and provocation that could affect the department's duties and threaten public order.