Exclusive: More than 100 die in Malaysian immigration detention camps in two years

By A. Ananthalakshmi KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - More than one hundred foreigners died in the past two years in Malaysia's immigration detention centres from various diseases and unknown causes, according to documents from the government–funded National Human Rights Commission reviewed by Reuters. The toll, which has not been previously disclosed, is based on Malaysian immigration department data provided to the commission, which is known by its Malay acronym Suhakam. The rate is higher than in major industrialized nations such as the United States, which in the last financial year recorded 10 deaths in its immigration detention system, which has many more detainees than Malaysia’s. More than half of the 118 dead are from Myanmar, the source for tens of thousands of refugees coming to Malaysia, including Rohingya Muslims escaping persecution by Myanmar’s authorities and its majority Buddhist population.

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