Monday, May 16, 2011

Echoes From The Malaysia Detention Centers



 Kuala Lumpur (VOCR) 16 May, 2011: two of Chin refugees, who had been arbitrarily detained more than seven months in Immigration detention center and camp, along with Myanmar-Tamil national became a good cellmate for months, are released today from Lenggeng Immigration detention center by the UNHCR's OPI team. The recognised Chin refugee woman, who was separated with her partner just before she was arrested in Bukit Bintang by the immigration raids on 02 October, 2010, was reportedly brought up in the Kuala Lumpur court after having locked-up for 13 days in Bukit Jalil police station—sentencing the four-month imprisonment in Kajang Immigration detention camp. 

The woman requested for anonymity was detained for two months and half in Kajang Immigration detention camp and then she experienced another shift to Lenggeng Immigration detention center where another five-month confinement was punished, although the primary degree sentenced was due for only four months. 

While arrested, she reportedly claimed that she worked as a massager in Bukit Bintang reflexology therapy center. 

"The most difficult part of my ordeal in prison was, we were forced to stay laid in an extreme heating daylight, which is an obvious small scale of torture and being beaten up with the umbrella by the authority personnel—suggesting that that was only going on whenever an un-specified official from Myanmar embassy came to us and cruelly treating us like animal. The visit is purely designed to force us return back to Myanmar but we adamantly denied his forcibly request which is really unreasonable. Then, the authority started mistreating us very badly at once" said the released Chin refugee woman during an interview with The VOCR.  

Detainees in Lenggeng immigration detention center are lack of blanket provision when sleep at night time according to sources. 

She continued that the Myanmar-embassy official claimed himself as a Mon ethnic native but impossible to believe his inhumanely abusive talking. Consequently, most of the ethnic minority detainees are badly mistreated because of his monthly visit [immigration detention centers and camps]. For all of Myanmar detainees, the visit was feared as a hungry lion according to the Myanmar-Tamil, Khin May Than, released together with two of her Chin refugee cellmates. 

People released today was firstly met in January and again in March and finally released by the UNHCR's OPI team today. 

Sources from Rohinyas met with The VOCR say that there is an agency working as the in-between broker in cahoots with the OPI team of UNHCR, and asking the Myanmar detainees Rm-2800 (equivalent with US $ 950) for their release, adding that it was the Myanmar illegal migrants' favorite.  

It is learnt that several women of Chin refugees unregistered remain detained in Lenggeng Immigration detention center. It is believed that the OPI team will fairly conduct their mission of releasing those are in extreme need for help, esp, the remained in detention centers and camps across the region. 



By Simon

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