KL orders probe on addicts

KL orders probe on addicts

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has promised an investigation into allegations that drug addicts in rehabilitation centers were assaulted, Bernama news agency reported yesterday.

Mahathir said acts such as kicking and beating of inmates should be stopped. "I should know as I also have relatives involved with drugs," he was quoted as saying yesterday.

Mahathir's remarks came after some 130 inmates broke out of a drug rehabilitation center in northern Kedah state on Saturday after setting fire to five buildings.

Forty-seven were soon captured, Bernama reported, and a hunt had been launched for the rest.

The Sun newspaper quoted a 28-year-old inmate, Rodzi Pawan Teh, as saying he was beaten with a cane until he collapsed after denying a charge of hoarding tobacco.