Asia-Pacific

Malaysia drafts law to send foreign prisoners back

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-06 13:20

KUALA LUMPUR: The Prisons Department of Malaysia has drafted a law to allow the transfer of foreign prisoners in Malaysian jails back to their country of origin, local media reported on Wednesday.

The law would enable foreign prisoners to be sent back to their respective countries to serve out their sentences, local newspaper the Star cited Malaysia's Deputy Home Minister Abu Seman Yusop as saying.

Meanwhile, it also allow Malaysians in prisons overseas to be brought back home, but the transfer of prisoners would depend on the cooperation of their respective countries of origin, said the minister

Abu Seman said that the Malaysian government would discuss the matter with various countries, stressing that only convicted foreign prisoners would be involved in the transfer program.

Currently, Malaysia holds 8,454 convicted foreign prisoners from over 20 countries, accounting for 26 percent of the country's total inmates, said the minister.

He said that the law is now in the process of finalization and would be submitted to the Attorney General for detailed study and fine-tuning later.