CHAPTER 1 skin infections (ringworm, tinea, and scabies), tuberculosis, leptospirosis and others were placed in separate cells. At the meeting with the Prison Department on 22 December, the Commission was informed that three main challenges in overcoming the issue of health problems in the prisons were: overcrowding, which increased the risk of contagious diseases; the absence of a permanent medical officer at certain prisons; and the lack of medical equipment at the prisons’ clinics. The Commission was also informed that the Prison Department had presented a proposal to the Government to set up a ‘medical wing’ in the prisons, but that proposal had yet to receive the green light from the Government. Meanwhile, for immigration detention centres, in the absence of medical officers, medical assistants are placed there instead. For more serious cases, the detainees were referred to either the nearest Government clinic or hospital. In line with the Lock-Up Rules 1953, the Commission underscores the importance of health screenings, both physical and mental, for individuals before they are held in lock-up. The MOHA and the Ministry of Health must assist the Police by ensuring that there are sufficient numbers of medical officers afforded for this purpose. This is important to allow the Police to identify any special measures required not only to ensure the safety of arrested persons, but also so that Police personnel can ready themselves against the spread of infectious diseases, as well as possible attacks by aggressive arrested persons especially those with mental health problems. (h) Smuggling of Contraband Items The Commission has discovered that the smuggling of contraband items such as drugs in places of detention is a serious problem. It is a lucrative illegal business operating inside these places of detention. During the Commission’s visit to Sungai Buloh Prison, a medical officer on duty at the prison informed the Commission that the smuggling of drugs in the prison had caused the prison’s drug rehabilitation programme to fail. During the Commission’s visit to Alor Setar Prison on 18 May, the inmates and prison personnel interviewed confided to the Commission the involvement of prison personnel in the smuggling of drugs. The Commission notes that the Prison Department has taken steps to foil the smuggling of contraband items but the activity still persists. In this regard, the Commission recommends that a concerted effort involving the detaining authorities and other agencies such as the Police and MACC must be made to eradicate the smuggling of contraband items in places of detention. 70 SUHAKAM ANNUAL REPORT 2016 suhakam 2new.indd 70 3/23/17 5:54 PM