Sabah Immigration Dept denies ill-treatment of Kimanis detainees

KOTA KINABALU – State Immigration Department has denied the ill-treatment of detainees, such as the ones in a recent viral video.

Sabah Immigration director Datuk Sharifah Sitti Saleha Habib Yusof said it was found that the physical condition of the detainees in the video had been exploited by certain parties.

“The detainees in the depot were involved with unhealthy activities previously. They were handed over to immigration for repatriation after completing their sentence,” she said in a statement here today.

Sitti said the depots were meant to detain migrants for investigation and to determine their nationalities before they were repatriated.

“The repatriation process can only be done after their nationalities are confirmed by the respective embassies. After that, the embassies will release travel documents for the detainees.”

Earlier, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the frail-looking detainees were already in such conditions before they were brought to the detention centre.

He was commenting on the viral video and photographs of the alleged detainees incarcerated at the Kimanis Detention Centre, near here. – The Vibes, December 9, 2022