More stories about the illegal rehab centres in Kajang. They are so clever to find loopholes to make money. Pity the inmates and their families though. Hope they will get proper treatment soon.

Until the next time, cheers.

The Star, Thursday December 22, 2011

No sign of authentic care providers at rehab centre

THE drug rehabilitation centre is tucked between abandoned shoplots in Bandar Teknologi Kajang. The area is empty and forlorn, only several car workshops and eateries show some signs of commercial activities. 

 

There is no signage indicating it is a centre, but from the outside we saw about 10 men sitting on the floor behind a locked grille, packing ang pow packets into bags of 10 in the hot afternoon.

The photographer and I inquired within on the pretext of wanting to send in a cousin hooked on drugs.

Two men who claimed to be the “caretakers” attended to us, from their bleary gaze and unclear speech, it was obvious that they too were synthetic drug users.

Space restriction: The female dormitory of the drug rehabilitation centre in Bandar Teknologi Kajang. This is the only place where the inmates are allowed to move freely.

 

The centre has 60 residents. The 40-odd men looked like they were aged between 20s and 40s, while the women were of various age groups. Most of them lazed around on their beds. A TV was on to catch their attention but most of the time they were buried in their own thoughts.

When we went in, caretaker Wah-Chai sent the male residents to put on their clothes and ordered some of them to stop smoking. He also quickly informed the female section that we were on the way.

Over at the female dormitory, Sister Heung, who runs the centre with her husband, whisked the residents off their beds to start packing the ang pow as soon as we stepped in.

The only common area for the inmates to move about was the ground-floor unit which we first saw, while an “activity centre” on the second floor where they could play table tennis was dusty and left vacant.

Wah-Chai told us that each resident was charged RM750, while the costs of medicine, consultation, transportation, toiletries and other personal needs would be billed to the family at the end of the month.

Abandoned: An activity centre meant for exercising is left vacant all year round.

 

That would mean the family that ran the centre was raking in at least RM45,000 on a monthly basis by providing just basic meals while rental of the quiet area was at RM300 to RM1,000 per unit.

“Your cousin would not want to come if he’s on drugs, but don’t worry, we can send our men to your place to drag him here. Our boss charges only a bit for the extra service, just a few hundred bucks,” he said.

“What if he resists while undergoing rehabilitation here?” I asked.

Wah-Chai answered confidently, “We will control and counsel him, that is why we advise families not to come in at least two months so he will not be tempted...”

As he said that, one of the inmates repeatedly mumbled, “Beat him, beat him...”

“Don’t they go out for some fresh air?” I asked.

“We will bring them out sometimes, but it’s best to keep them here as they are mentally unstable,” he said.

Sister Heung also showed us some photographs of the inmates’ outings to the Hulu Langat waterfall but according to traders nearby, the inmates were locked in the units most of the time.

She was happy that we complemented on the cleanliness of the centre, and showed us the duty roster as well as the timetable for visits to various governmental hospitals. Several folders labelled as accounts were placed in the open to impress visitors.

On our way back, Wah-Chai said they welcomed donations and asked if my cousin smoked. “Good for him if he smokes because I think we are the only centre that allows smoking.”

It was learned that the National Anti-Drug Agency conducted a check on the centre following public complaints. However, they could not take action as the operators claimed that they were monitored by the Welfare Department as they treated mentally ill patients.

The Hulu Langat Welfare Department, when contacted, confirmed that they did not issue a licence to the centre as such a facility should fall under the Health Ministry’s jurisdiction.

The ministry said it had not received any application for licence to operate such a facility, even though a few psychiatrists had shown interest in providing private health services to care for the drug addicts.

StarMetro then called up another drug rehabilitation centre in Batu 9 Cheras, alleged to be making good money while operating illegally.

The five-year-old centre “treats” designer drug users specifically with a monthly fee of RM800, excluding medical expenses.

Asked if they had a licence, the operator said: “Well, actually many drug centres get their licences only after 10 years in operation but that does not stop them from helping the addicts, we are applying for ours, too.”