KUCHING: A High Court judge here has ordered the Prisons Department to get a remand detainee the dental attention he was denied for months.
The accused's lawyer, Michael Kong, had sought a court order from judge Azahari Kamal to direct Prisons officers to attend to his client John Wong's "immediate medical needs".
Kong told Azahari that the Prisons Department had failed to act on Wong's request to see a dentist "for a pressing dental issue" as far back as December last year.
Kong, a special assistant to Sarawak DAP chief and Stampin member of parliament Chong Chieng Jen, told the court that Wong's then legal counsel, Roger Chin, had in early December of last year written to the director of the Kuching Prison at Puncak Borneo requesting the dental treatment.
Kong, in a statement later, said the fundamental rights of all Malaysians, including those in prison, must be upheld and respected by all parties.
He said the department took no action on the first letter, prompting further letters to be written this year.
"As of today, it has been more than six months. The dental issue persists, leaving Wong unable to eat properly," he said.
Kong added that the failure to get the dental treatment had led to Wong losing four teeth.
"The right to medical treatment is a basic human right that cannot be ignored or delayed. It is imperative that our corrections system operates with the highest standards of care and respect for all individuals, regardless of their legal status," he said.