KUALA LUMPUR: The Prisons Department says cases of misconduct or rules breaches are dealt with in accordance with regulations and standard operating procedures.
Acknowledging that such incidents can occur at any detention facility, it said any information, complaints or allegations involving misconduct, breaches of the law or smuggling prohibited items should be reported to the police or relevant official channels to allow investigations to be conducted.
"Every identified incident will be dealt with in accordance with the rules and SOPs in force and remains under the control of the prison authorities," it said in a statement on Tuesday (Sept 22).
The department said security, control, discipline and the welfare of inmates remained priorities in the management of prisons nationwide.
ALSO READ: Prisons Dept denies claims life behind bars depends on money, influence
It said prison operations were carried out based on strict SOPs, including security controls, inspections, monitoring and action against any breach of regulations.
"The Prisons Department also conducts intelligence activities, monitoring and continuous reviews of security and regulatory compliance at prison institutions to identify any risks, threats or breaches and enable preventive and enforcement action to be taken accordingly," it said.
The department said it remained open to information that could help strengthen prison security and management.
"At the same time, any allegations should be channelled through the appropriate avenues so they can be verified and addressed based on facts and evidence," it said.
The public was also advised to obtain information from credible and authoritative sources and refrain from speculation or spreading unverified information.
The department said it would continue to strengthen and improve its SOPs, security controls, intelligence and monitoring mechanisms from time to time to ensure prisons remained safe, secure and conducive.
On Monday (Sept 21), the department denied claims by singer-composer Yasin Sulaiman that life behind bars depended on money and influence.
Yasin, who reportedly made the claims during a podcast, later retracted them and apologised to the department.
