Female Prisoners in Malaysia

The Royal Malaysia Police has got its strategy wrong

“…Although the prison department currently does have a rehabilitation programme, there is no aftercare for ex-prisoners. This has been highlighted by Teh (2006), as well as Proham. Without aftercare, which is in the purview of the welfare department, there is no assistance to help ex-prisoners adjust to life back within society.…”

The Imprisonment of Women in Southeast Asia: Trends, Patterns, Comparisons and the Need for Further Research

“…Recall that substantial increases in the imprisonment of women in Malaysia occurred after or staying in Malaysia could be fined up to a maximum of RM10,000 or sentenced to custodial terms not exceeding five years, or both (Kanapathy 2008;Santhiago 2005). While imprisonment data by sex and offence over time could not be found, research undertaken by Teh (2006) showed that Malaysian women's prison populations are characterised by a high proportion of foreign nationals, the majority of which are imprisoned for immigration offences. Of the 422 women prisoners included in her study, Teh (2006: 48) found that over half (52%) were foreigners.…”

Rethinking the Relationship between Women, Crime and Economic Factors: The Case-Study of Women Sentenced to Death for Drug Trafficking in Malaysia

“…Of these, some have adopted a medical lens and have examined the high prevalence of psychiatric and psychological disorders amongst the female prison population of Malaysia (Zamzam and Hatta 2000;Mazlan and Ahmad 2012). Others have examined the socio-demographic factors and backgrounds of female offenders imprisoned in Malaysia (Teh 2006;Samuel and Omar 2012). The most detailed account comes from Teh (2006) whose study of 422 female prisoners in Malaysia finds that the majority of the inmates were engaged in criminality due to economic marginality: with 17% of the female prisoners being unemployed prior to incarceration, and of those who were employed, around half of them were living under the poverty line (p. 48).…”

“…Others have examined the socio-demographic factors and backgrounds of female offenders imprisoned in Malaysia (Teh 2006;Samuel and Omar 2012). The most detailed account comes from Teh (2006) whose study of 422 female prisoners in Malaysia finds that the majority of the inmates were engaged in criminality due to economic marginality: with 17% of the female prisoners being unemployed prior to incarceration, and of those who were employed, around half of them were living under the poverty line (p. 48). The research also finds that 52% of the female inmates are foreign nationals (mainly from neighbouring Indonesia and Thailand), and amongst the foreign national prisoners the most common offence type was an immigration offence, whereas for the Malaysian national prisoners the most common offence type was a drug offence (Teh 2006, pp.…”