PUTRAJAYA, Sept 9 —  Desperation is probably the mother of invention, going by what some prison inmates had resorted to, in the name of protection against fellow convicts.

According to the Prisons Department, these inmates had fashioned writing pens, toothbrushes and steel nails, among others, into dangerous weapons to ward off aggressive convicts.

Prison officers and warders stumbled on such ‘weapons’ during routine checks on inmates and convicts, said the department’s deputy director (security) Senior Commissioner Supri Hashim.

“Security concerns among some inmates resulted in them modifying ordinary items into weapons for personal protection or for fights.

“Rocks, broken chair legs and nails were also found fashioned into dangerous weapons.

“Although they have been extremely creative in making weapons from everyday items, no deaths were reported while armed with such weapons...fights rarely occur in our prisons,” he said here recently.

Nevertheless, Supri said, a prevention and monitoring unit had been set up in prisons nationwide to ensure the safety of its inmates, staff and visitors.

Besides spot checks, he said, prison officers also carried out checks on prisoners and scrutinised their cells daily for ‘prison-made’ weapons.

Supri said, should a prisoner be found to be in possession of such weapons, not only would their sentence be extended but caning would be meted out and their visiting privileges taken away.

He added that over 34,000 prisoners were carrying out sentences in 31 prisons nationwide, of which 12,000 were foreigners. — Bernama