JB officials suspended as M’sian investigations continue
By Jeanette Tan and Faris Mokhtar
3RD UPDATE
Two officials at the Johor Bahru Immigration Office have been suspended, pending the completion of Home Ministry investigations into the alleged mistreatment of two Singaporean women last Thursday.
Malaysian immigration director-general Alias Ahmad told reporters that the seven-man multi-agency panel headed to Johor yesterday to commence their investigation.
He said that the committee has been instructed to complete their probe within five days, and submit their findings and recommendations in a report to the Immigration Department.
Alias stressed, however, that the pair's detention was legal, as the women had violated Malaysia's immigration laws by not passing through the biometric fingerprint system checks.
The duo, who remain known only as Ms Lim and Ms Chang, have since said that they will be submitting written statements of their experience to Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) today, reported The Straits Times.
Correspondingly, the MFA said in a statement that it would closely monitor the outcome of the investigation, as well as assist with handing the women's written statements to the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore.
The spokesperson said on Tuesday that its consulate in Johor Bahru has also contacted the Malaysian immigration authorities to inquire on the immigration and detention procedures that the Singaporean women were subjected to.
"Hopefully this will help the Malaysian investigators to come to a quick conclusion," the statement said.
Ms Chang, an insurance company manager, said that she planned to take legal action, albeit not having consulted a lawyer yet. Her companion, a real estate agent, planned to drop the matter after lodging a formal complaint.
"If I want to sue, I will have to enter Malaysia to go for the hearing, and I do not want to step in there anymore," she said.
On Wednesday, Malaysia's Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein ordered an investigation into the matter, telling reporters that an inquiry committee had been formed, consisting of representatives from the police, prisons, immigration and detention centre departments.
"We have to get to the bottom of this," he said after a parliamentary session.
Alias said that the committee will determine whether or not the detention centre officers followed proper procedures, and may recommend changes to the standard operating procedure if necessary.
"We want to resolve this quickly, to show that we're serious about this case," he said."Be fair to us. The inquiry team has been formed. Let them do their job."
He maintained, however, that the officer involved in the incident had followed the standard operating procedure of conducting a full-body check at the detention centre.
"How the check is conducted is up to the discretion of the officer," he added.
Malaysian tourism minister Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen said that the case is "not a small issue", and that anything that affects public perception of the country with regard to its hospitality is a serious one, according to AsiaOne News.
"The officials must be taken to task if they are found to have broken the rules," she said, when the issue was raised at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
"One shouldn't be asked to do nude squats at all unless you have an absolute reason for suspicion. And it must be done with proper supervision," she added.
"We are an international player so we must make sure things are done the right way."
Last week, Ms Lim and Ms Chang drove across the Causeway for early morning supper without getting their passports stamped.
They had driven into a lane that was not manned and as it was their first time experiencing the new biometric scanner at the counter, Lim used the intercom and tried to ask another officer for help.
Both waited at the counter for five minutes before they decided to move on as Lim thought that there would be another counter for them to scan their fingers, but after they passed through, they realised there would not be one.
Shortly after they realised their mistake, they returned to the customs checkpoint but were subsequently sent to a nearby detention centre, and ordered to strip and do squats in the nude.
Both women were detained in a locked, crowded room until 5pm the next day and were initally asked to pay a fine of RM6,000 (S$2,440). They were eventually let off with a stern warning.
Since the issue was reported by the media, it has sparked outrage among Singaporeans and Malaysians alike, with some questioning the standard procedures that detainees are subjected to by the immigration authorities in Malaysia.
