By HILARY RUSS
Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A Chinese immigrant being held at a Rhode Island detention center was denied medical care, abused and accused of faking his illness in the weeks before he died of cancer, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday by the man's widow.

Hiu Lui "Jason" Ng, a 34-year-old computer engineer accused of overstaying his visa, died of late-stage liver cancer in August, weeks after being taken to the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls. His cancer went undiagnosed until days before his death.

Ng's death prompted state and federal investigations into his detention and treatment. Federal officials determined that Ng did not receive proper medical care and pulled its immigration detainees and terminated its contract with Wyatt in December.

The lawsuit, filed by the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Ng's widow, Lin Li Qu, accuses Wyatt prison guards of "malicious and sadistic behavior," saying Ng was dragged by his arms at one point and denied use of a doctor-authorized wheelchair. It says a staff nurse insisted he had to pick up his own medication even though he was so weak he could not walk.

The lawsuit also alleges that Wyatt officials ignored repeated letters from Ng's brother-in-law warning that the man was seriously ill.

The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, targets the facility's owners, warden and staff, ICE and other defendants.

The privately run facility is owned and operated by the Central Falls Detention Facility Corp. It houses federal detainees who are awaiting trial or awaiting a move into custody by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

A phone message left with the facility was not immediately returned.

The prison has punished several staff members who interacted with Ng, including firing some. The state attorney general's office last month said it would not bring criminal charges in the death.