Legal reform needed to prevent unwarranted detention of foreigners - lawyer

 

A lawyer has called for legal reform to deter widespread abuse of the rights of foreign students and workers in Malaysia.

Suraj Singh made the call today following the detention of a Bangladeshi student by the authorities for nearly two weeks over alleged non-possession of travel documents.

When contacted by Malaysiakini today, the lawyer said the Immigration Act 1959/1963 must be reviewed as it gives wide-ranging power to the enforcement agency to detain a foreigner up to 14 days before needing to produce the detainee before a magistrate, whether to seek further remand or to charge the detainee.

He said this problem can be seen where an enforcement officer detained a foreign student despite the detainee having explained that his passport was kept by the university.

Suraj said his client, a Bangladeshi national studying a degree course here, was detained for 10 days from Nov 3.

He said his client was only produced before the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court on Nov 13, whereby the student was charged with allegedly having no permit to stay in Malaysia.

“This case shows that the Immigration Act needs to be reviewed. The remand process enables the court to inquire on the wellbeing of the arrested person (foreigner).

“However, under the Immigration Act, one (foreigner) can be incarcerated for up to 14 days without his right to be examined or his complaint (if any) be heard.

“We need to circumvent the 14-day rule (detention before being brought before a magistrate) as the rights of foreigners are not protected (while under the 14-day detention),” Suraj said.

The lawyer said this poses a problem as the foreigner can be detained by Immigration authorities up to 14 days without being allowed out on bail.

He said this current state of affairs leads to foreign students and workers facing the risk of unwarranted detention by the authorities despite the detainees having explained that their travel documents are kept by the college or their agencies.

Suraj also questioned the need for authorities to detain foreign students in such situations when there are other ways to verify the foreigners have travel documents, such as checking online.

His co-counsel Rajpal Singh echoed similar concerns, saying the authorities should be more understanding, as at times the travel documents of foreigners are kept by universities where they study or employers whom they work for.

He urged the authorities to refrain from incarcerating foreigners in such situations, pending verification of the travel documents.

Rajpal also questioned the action of the prosecution to seek revision of the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court decision to allow his client out on bail.

He said the prosecution’s revision application against the bail will be heard by the Shah Alam High Court on Monday next week.

“A person, regardless of whether a Malaysian or a foreigner, is innocent until proven otherwise (in court proceedings). Why the double standard?

“It does not matter where they (accused) are from as they should all be treated equally before the law,” Rajpal said, adding that the Magistrate’s Court has the discretion to weigh all considerations before granting or denying bail.

“Whether a Malaysian or a foreigner, bail conditions and fundamental rights under the Federal Constitution should be the same,” he said. - Mkini