First Medical Prison in Malaysia Planned, Will Provide Treatment for HIV-Positive Inmates

A Malaysian prison -- the Alor Star -- will be turned into the first medical prison in the country, Bernama Daily Malaysian News reports. The new facility will provide treatment for inmates with "critical ailments," including cancer, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, according to Bernama Daily Malaysian News. Records show that there are 1,800 HIV-positive inmates in the country, according to the Prison Department's Security Division officer Supri Hashim. Several new positions, including medical and health officers, must be created in order to turn the Alor Star -- which was chosen because of its proximity to the local hospital, where prisoners will be taken in cases of medical emergency -- into a medical prison, the Daily Malaysian News reports. The Malaysian government decided to set up the medical prison after visiting a Thai medical prison and consulting with Thai officials, Hashim said. The medical prison will house both male and female inmates in different areas, the Daily Malaysian News reports (Bernama Daily Malaysian News, 7/20).