LAHAD DATU - A new prison with a 1,000-inmate capacity here is expected to begin operations on Oct 1, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He expressed hope that the operation of the Lahad Datu Prison will help reduce overcrowding in Tawau and Kota Kinabalu prisons in the state
Saifuddin Nasution said that the prison will begin operations with a one-month trial period involving 100 prisoners and will then be expanded to 450 inmates before operating at full capacity in January next year.
"This additional 1,000 capacity will help the Prisons Department to address overcrowding issues, which can lead to problems like transmission of infectious diseases and unconducive conditions that distress inmates and result in suicide, escape attempts or fights,” he said.
Earlier, he and Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi witnessed the handover of the Lahad Datu Prison project from the Works Ministry to the Home Ministry here today.
On other measures to reduce overcrowding in prisons, Saifuddin Nasution said his ministry, through the Prisons Department, had implemented release on parole and compulsory attendance orders.
He added that the Prisons Department is also in the process of implementing the release on licence involving home detention.
Meanwhile, Nanta said the construction of the Lahad Datu Prison, which began in 2017, was completed at a cost of RM176 million instead of the RM200 million approved in the 11th Malaysia Plan.
In another development, he said the Works Ministry hoped that the remaining 35 work packages of the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway project could start immediately after the appointment of contractors was finalised at the end of this year.
"We want to speed up the construction of the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway as work on several packages have yet to start,” he said.
The construction of the first phase of the project involving 15 work packages is now 82 per cent complete and is scheduled to be completed in January next year. - BERNAMA