BUTTERWORTH: The Immigration Department in Penang refuted allegations of mistreating detainees at the Juru Detention Depot.

       State Immigration director Nur Zulfa Ibrahim said detainees at the depot were treated fairly and regular monitoring was conducted by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to ensure compliance with standard operating procedures (SOP).

       "At the Juru depot, we served food three to four times daily.

       "I was down there to see for myself the situation there and based on my observations everything is under control.

       "There was no torture or abuse (against detainees). If there are, I have to take disciplinary action because they need to be well looked after according to human rights," she said.

       She said this at a session with media practitioners at the Seberang Jaya Immigration Department, here.

       The media on Wednesday (March 6) reported that the international NGO, Human Rights Watch (HRW) claimed that detainees in an immigration detention centre in a state in the north were given bad treatment thus violating human rights.

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       The NGO alleged that the detainees suffered from harsh living conditions, lack of medical care, and were victims of prolonged torture and physical abuse, which allegedly resulted in 'many' deaths.

       The report also claimed that there were female detainees who received shameful treatment and two-thirds of the children were separated from their families.

       Commenting further, Nur Zulfa said at the Juru depot, detainees aged 12 and under were not separated from their mothers.

       "Detainees aged 13 to 18 are also not placed with adult detainees to ensure their safety," she said. - Bernama