equally to this category of persons. 178.Of particular concern for the delegation was the case of a Chinese remand prisoner who had been detained allegedly for 13 years (since 4 November 1994) without trial and no formal indictment. At the time of the visit, he was held at the Maafushi prison. The delegation drew his case to the attention of the Attorney General after the final talks, and the SPT welcomes the efforts of the Government of the Maldives towards finding a solution to his case. The SPT requests information on any steps taken to resolve the situation and to transfer the person concerned to his home country, as well as of any compensation awarded to him by the Maldivian authorities. 5.Medical screening on entry from police custodyas a safeguard against ill-treatment 179.The screening of people arriving from police custody in prison is of key importance for the prevention of ill-treatment by the police. The entry point into prison is a critical time for detection of any injuries and assessing whether ill-treatment may have occurred. The delegation therefore paid attention to the practice as regards medical screening on entry and the procedures for reporting cases of possible police ill-treatment. 180.The delegation was informed at Maafushi prison that all prisoners were examined by a nurse upon their arrival, and understood that no initial screening of new arrivals was performed at Malé Remand Centre. The delegation noted the existence of a form that should be filled in by the doctor immediately after arrival of each new prisoner and that the examination did not include any compulsory testing or search of body cavities. However, while this form for routine medical examinations existed, the delegation observed that it was only sporadically used and medical examinations were most commonly carried out only at the request of the detainees. 181.The SPT considers that routine medical examination upon arrival of a prisoner and good record keeping are important tools in the prevention of torture and ill-treatment. It is equally important for the assessment of the prisoner’s needs for medical care. In particular, in the context of the extremely high prevalence of drug abuse among prisoners, the medical examination at entry could be an avenue for approaching this problem on an individual basis and for offering counselling and treatment of withdrawal symptoms, thus helping the newcomer not to resort to the illegal drugs available in the prison. 182.Furthermore, the SPT considers that there should be an established procedure for doctors to document and report any case of violence occurring prior to entry into prison. A lack of such a procedure represents a gap in the safeguards against ill-treatment and would favour impunity and thereby jeopardize the prevention of ill-treatment. 183. The SPT recommends that medical screening of all prisoners should take place upon arrival. If the initial screening is performed by a nurse, the detainees should be offered the opportunity to be seen by a doctor as soon as possible. The medical examination should be thorough enough to reveal any injuries. The SPT further recommends that every routine medical examination is carried out using a standard form that includes (a) a medical history (b) an account by the person examined of any violence (c) the result of the thorough physical examination, including description of any injuries and (d) where the doctor ’ s training so allows, an assessment as to consistency between the three first items. The report should be made available to the prisoner and to his or her lawyer. 184. The SPT further recommends that a procedure be established, with due consideration for medical confidentiality and the consent of the individual, for all cases of violence and alleged ill-treatment documented by doctors to be reported directly to the prison director for referral to the bodies responsible for monitoring of conditions in police detention facilities or in prisons and for complaints. 6. Prison staff 185.The SPT takes note of the efforts made to train prison staff. In discussions with the Director of the DPRS, the delegation was informed that a police and human rights training programme was conducted in 2006 with the support of the Commonwealth. This training programme was organized by the Law Enforcement Training Centre of the Maldives Police Service in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Human Rights Unit of the Commonwealth Secretariat. Ten staff members from the DPRS participated in this training programme. Moreover, some 20 prison staff members are sent abroad to gain experience every year. 186.The delegation was informed by both the supervisors and staff that before a new recruit is accepted, he undergoes a six weeks course in administration, self-defence, communication, problem solving and some law, and four weeks of practice. The training sessions for prison staff which the delegation observed left a good impression. The SPT welcomes this important on-going process of recruitment and training of new staff and encourages the relevant authorities to continue their efforts to train staff. 187.However despite these efforts, the SPT noted the lack of female staff and of staff for the night shifts. The Director of the DPRS informed the delegation that for a total prison population of 700 people there were 400 staff members, working in shifts, including the so called non uniformed and medical staff. For example at Maafushi prison, the head of security noted that due to low the level of staffing, staff members were afraid to enter the big dormitories, in particular at night. 188.A total of 150 male and 30 female staff members worked in shifts at Maafushi prison. In the Malé Remand Centre, the 70 prisoners currently held there were monitored by only three or four staff members per shift who reportedly did not enter the prison yard. The SPT was told by the prisoners that the staff could only be seen when distributing meals, and even then the food was given to three prisoners who then distributed it to other prisoners. In addition, the SPT delegation noted that there was no effective way to alert staff in an emergency and a general absence of a call system in cells. 189.If prisoners are left to themselves due to lack of staff or inadequate use of available resources, this easily leads to