The Prison Department today denied allegations that Najib Abdul Razak will receive special treatment in prison.
This comes after a photo went viral, claiming Najib was occupying a VIP room equipped with various facilities in the Kajang Prison.
In a Facebook post, the Prison Department asked the public to stop spreading fake information.
Accompanied in the post was a screenshot of a spacious cushy room equipped with shelves, several beds with fluffy pillows, a round table and what looks like a mini fridge, with the title ‘Prison for VIP’.
The photo appeared to originate from a Facebook account under the name D’eyo Adie, claiming the room to be a special prison cell for VIP convicts.
D’eyo Adie claimed VIP prisoners would also get a private television set, internet access, books, air conditioning and sumptuous food and drink costing up to RM150 a day per person compared to the RM30 a day budgeted for “ordinary” convicts.
The Prison Department confirmed that no special treatment will be given to Najib and maintained that all prisoners will be treated the same.
Meanwhile, Utusan Malaysia reported that Najib will only be temporarily housed in the Kajang Prison, before being transferred to Sungai Buloh prison to serve the rest of his sentence.
Citing an unknown source, it was revealed that Najib was only placed in the Kajang prison for registration and administrative purposes.
However, the source said the length of Najib’s stay would be dependent on the circumstances.
“It is understood that he (Najib) has been temporarily placed in Kajang Prison for a health screening test and other procedures,” the source told Utusan Malaysia.
Allegations on preferential treatment for “well-connected” prisoners are not new as there had been reports of such treatment being given to some inmates.
On Aug 11, 1989, Malay Mail carried a report of corporate figure Abdullah Ang who, while being held in Kajang Prison, was allowed to commute regularly between jail and the city.
Ang was said to have been sighted at his family’s factory at Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, without guards two days before he was supposed to be released.
The report said stall owners operating near the factory would see him having lunch and tea, often accompanied by “tycoon-type men” in luxury cars. Ang also occasionally packed food to be taken back to the Kajang Prison, it said.
His presence would be the talk of office workers and labourers, who wondered how he managed to get out of prison regularly.
He was supposed to be working at an orchid farm in Mantin, Negeri Sembilan, set up by the prisons department.
Ang, a former managing director of the now-defunct Malaysian Overseas Investment Corp, had been sentenced to eight years’ jail by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Dec 15, 1986 after he pleaded guilty to criminal breach of trust.
The controversy surrounding the “privileged prisoner” led to a restructuring of the prisons department to resemble that of the police department.