Malaysia pressed to probe deaths of 150 foreigners in detention last year

Human rights groups have urged Malaysia to investigate conditions at migrant detention centres after the government said 150 foreigners, including seven children, died at the facilities last year.

Malaysia routinely detains foreigners without valid permits to remain in the country, including asylum seekers. It is home to millions of undocumented migrants and more than 100,000 Rohingya refugees.

Its detention centres are crowded and unhygienic, and detainees have inadequate access to food, water and healthcare, according to activists and interviews with former detainees.

In a written reply this week to a question in parliament, Malaysia’s home minister, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, said seven children and 25 women were among those who died in detention last year.

He did not disclose the cause of deaths or the number of migrants held in detention. Last July, Malaysia said there were 17,703 foreigners in its detention facilities.

“The fact that so many foreigners, including children, die in immigration custody is a scathing indictment of Malaysia’s failure to treat those they are holding as human beings who have rights,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.