CLEANLINESS, HYGIENE AT IMMIGRATION DEPOT TO BE STEPPED UP

BUTTERWORTH (Malaysia), May 19 (Bernama) -- Cleanliness and hygiene at
immigration depots nationwide are to be stepped-up to ensure safety of staff and
inmates there against contracting infectious diseases, Immigration
Director-General Abdul Rahman said Tuesday.

He said this was in addition to the scheduled checks conducted by the Health
Department to ensure the depots met the health and hygiene standards and to
prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

"We have the cooperation of the Health Ministry to monitor cleanliness and
hygiene at our depots nationwide and there is no need for the public to worry,"
he told a press conference at the northern state of Penang Immigration head
office here Tuesday.

Since the past few days, 26 illegal immigrants from the Juru Immigration
depot near here have been warded with leptospirosis at two hospitals in Seberang
Perai and two of them, both from Myanmar, died.

Leptospirosis is commonly transmitted by allowing water that has been
contaminated by animal urine to come into contact with unhealed breaks in the
skin, eyes or mucous membranes.

Abdul Rahman said it had yet to be ascertained how the inmates at the depot
contracted the disease and that the department was waiting for the post-mortem
reports.

He said the quality of food and services at the depot met the stipulated
standards and requirements, adding that as of 2pm Monday, no new cases had
been reported.

He said there were 553 illegal immigrants detained at the Juru depot, with
26 of them down with leptospirosis, including two deaths.

The remaining 24 people still in hospital comprised 22 Myanmar nationals and
the others, from Bangladesh.

They were reported to be in stable condition, he added.

In a related development, Abdul Rahman said the department had requested the
assistance of the Myanmar Embassy to make the necessary funeral arrangements for
the two Myanmar nationals -- Thang Hoih Ping, 21, and Sa La Hian, 26, -- who
died from the disease on May 12 and May 17, respectively, at the Bukit Mertajam
Hospital.

The department had sent a letter to the Myanmar Embassy to inform them
about the death of their citizens, he said, adding that the bodies of the two
Myanmar nationals were still at the Bukit Mertajam mortuary.
-- BERNAMA