Family seeks answers over death in custody

THE family of an indigenous woman, who died after being locked up, is demanding to know how she could have been declared medically fit for jail.

THE family of a 22-year-old indigenous woman, who died this month after being locked up for unpaid fines in a West Australian watch-house, is demanding to know how she could have been declared medically fit by health authorities to be kept in jail

Julieka Dhu’s family yesterday broke their silence over her sudden death on August 4 — after being held for three days in the South Hedland Police Station — saying she should never have been jailed for unpaid fines.

After days of vomiting, pain and complaints of fever and paralysis in the watch-house, Ms Dhu was deemed medically fit to be kept in custody after two visits to the nearby hospital despite reportedly not being seen by a doctor. Dhu’s uncle, Shaun Harris said she should not have been incarcerated for something so petty as unpaid fines.

“How on earth did the WA health system, the Hedland Health Campus, apparently miss such an obvious health problem on more than one occasion, such as toxic poisoning and officially declare Julieka fit to be held in police custody?’’ Mr Harris said.

“And why did the police refuse her proper medical treatment by unjustifiably dismissing Julieka’s begging and multiple cries for ­urgent medical attention?’’

Police have published a chronology asserting they took her to the hospital twice and that the health staff had deemed her fit.

WA Labor spokesman on indigenous affairs Ben Wyatt said that people jailed for unpaid fines ­reduced their debt by $250 for each day in jail, meaning that Ms Dhu — whom police intended to keep in the watch-house for four days — was paying down a fine of no more than $1000 when she died in custody.

He said it cost well over $250 a day to imprison a person.

“Until we get serious about providing alternatives to imprisonment to pay down fines, we are going to continue to have high rates of Aboriginal incarceration,’’ he said.