The first thing that struck Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) commissioner Jerald Joseph during a visit to the Ayer Molek police lockup was the overpowering stench.

"When you go in, the first thing that hits you is the smell... There was a strong 'old' smell and an overpowering human-body stench.

"Detainees were wearing lockup clothes that hadn't been washed regularly. They are supposed to have three sets of clothes each but we were told there wasn't enough (clothes)," he told Malaysiakini in a phone interview.

Joseph was part of the Suhakam delegation that visited the Ayer Molek lockup on July 31 and later demanded that it be shut down...