China expresses ‘grave concern’ over suicide warning reveal before death in Melbourne immigration detention

The US private prison company running Australia’s immigration detention system was warned that a newly detained Chinese citizen expressed suicidal ideation and had a history of self-harm less than 24 hours before she died by suicide in a Melbourne detention centre, as shown by internal documents.

The detainee was a Chinese citizen in her mid-30s who had been picked up the day before for allegedly overstaying an English-language studies visa, internal documents seen by the Guardian show. She had no criminal history. The ABF transferred her into the custody of Secure Journeys on the afternoon of 9 July, and made clear to Secure Journeys that she had previously attempted self-harm and had “recently thought about self-harm/suicide”. She was found hanging in her room in the Broadmeadows residential precinct, part of the Melbourne immigration detention centre, early the next morning.

The Chinese embassy has confirmed it has “lodged solemn representations and expressed grave concern to the Australian side” about the circumstances of the death, and will closely follow the case.

The death has raised serious questions about whether the detainee was properly monitored and whether she was placed in an appropriate room, given her state of mind. It has also triggered an intervention from Australia’s biggest trading partner, Guardian Australia can reveal.

The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, is already furious about a string of security lapses involving the government’s new immigration contractor, Secure Journeys, a local subsidiary of the US-based prison multinational Management and Training Corporation. He has also been condemned by other MPs for sweeping immigration changes, so this case will not be doing him any favors.