In response to a question by lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan, immigration officer Zulkiflie a/k Ali said the MA would prescribe medication for diseases through this method based on descriptions by the immigration officers.

“We would inform the MA (if anybody is sick) through WhatsApp or phone call,” he said.

“But if he does not reply or pick up the call, we would pass the matter on to surveillance for the next course of action, whether the detainee needed to be brought to the hospital or not.”

When asked if that meant the MA would give prescriptions without personal examination, he said yes.

Zulkiflie was working at the Undocumented Migrants’ Health Record Unit (URKP) and was on the morning shift from July 6 to 9 last year.

He said Thomas had not complained of any discomfort or pain but had told him that he had high blood pressure.

He said he administered 10mg of the controlled drug Amlodipine on the advice of the MA via the latter’s notes in a notebook. The notebook contained details of sick detainees and their medicines and dosages.

He said he was also verbally instructed to give the medicine to Thomas by the URKP officers from the night shift.

“At 8am, I had reported for duty and met him (Thomas) face to face,” he told the court, adding that Thomas seemed normal and friendly.

“I gave the medicine to him; he was right in front of me. I put the pill in his hand and he put it in his mouth and drank some water.”

He said he would also give medication to sick detainees based on memory.

“For those who I have given medication to repeatedly, I would remember the medicine and dosage,” he said, adding that he did not need to refer to notes.

He said he had no expertise or training in healthcare-related fields.

“I learned some things from the MA on basic medication for common illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Usually, for heart disease, I would refer back to the MA,” he said.

Another witness, Algerian national Benatia Benama, said there were six other cellmates in Cell 1 of Block A, a dedicated cell for sick detainees.

He said they were not aware that Thomas was dying when he suddenly jolted in his sleep in the early morning of July 9.

Benama was Thomas’ cellmate at the time.

He said Thomas was transferred to the cell on the morning of July 6 after being tested for hypertension when he arrived at the Bukit Jalil depot the night before.

Benama, 48, has been at the depot for the past four years. He was placed in Cell 1 of Block A after falling sick with blood infection.

Benama said Thomas had told him he had RM6,000, a passport and a visa, which were confiscated by the officers at the depot for storage.

He said Thomas had told him he had suffered from high blood pressure.

“Other than that, he said he was injured in the leg. I didn’t ask who injured him,” he said, adding that Thomas also told him he was a professor at a university.

Recounting the events of July 9, he said, at some point in the night, Thomas appeared to be jolting in his sleep.

He said he did not think anything was amiss until he noticed Thomas had urinated in his pants.

“I then called another detainee who was allowed to walk around outside of the cells by the name of ‘Wan’,” he said.

Benama said Wan then called the immigration officers to tend to Thomas.

A few minutes later, he said, four officers rushed to the cell and asked the detainees to move outside, leaving Thomas alone.

Benama said he had heard the officers administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation based on the instructions of a woman through a loudspeaker.

Yesterday, immigration officers Valentine Nobeth, 27, and Mohd Azizi Amid, 25, testified that they received an emergency call to tend to Thomas who was found unconscious on the floor of his cell.

Valentine told the court that neither he nor his colleagues had received any first-aid training.

“We were instructed by the people at the hospital to carry out 600 chest compressions while waiting for the paramedics to arrive.”

Thomas’ family had filed an application for an inquest into his death as they suspected that he could have been assaulted and refused medication while in detention.

Thomas, who was a student at the Limkokwing University, was arrested with 19 others during a raid on an apartment in Kepong.

The inquest continues tomorrow.