The safety and living conditions in the Kajang prison for women, with inmates filling the institution to three times its capacity, must be attended to immediately, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) said today.

The prison now holds 1,454 prisoners, which exceeds its maximum capacity of 450. A cell for four inmates crams eight.

"You can imagine how bad the situation is when it is three times more than what it should be. The overcrowded condition makes it harder for prison officials to watch over the prisoners who could also get irritated and aggressive easily due to such environs," said commissioner Prof Mohd Hamdan Adnan.

Hamdan was met by reporters at his office after leading a nine-person delegation, which included commissioners Asiah Abu Samah and Dr Raj Abdul Karim, to the prison.

The trip which lasted four hours was part of the Suhakam's series of visits to prisons, detention camps and lock-ups nationwide under its complaint and investigation division headed by Hamdan.