Family secures lawyer for youth detained in Japan as third charge looms

 

The family of Faiq Zafran Jailani, a Malaysian detained in Toyama, Japan, is appointing a lawyer for him.

This is ahead of March 12, when a third charge will be brought against Faiq, said Malaysian Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) secretary-general Hishamuddin Hashim.

However, Hishamuddin said details of the latest charge cannot be disclosed, as Japanese legal procedures allow such information to be provided only to the appointed lawyers.

"Faiq is being held at a police station. The conditions there are not too bad, but obtaining halal food may be somewhat difficult. He may have to rely on vegetables and rice.

"There is another detainee in the same cell who also cannot speak English, so communication is quite challenging," he told the New Straits Times, adding that if proceedings went smoothly, another trial date might be set.

MHO secretary-general Hishamuddin Hashim

Faiq, a 24-year-old polytechnic graduate, is alleged to be the victim of a human trafficking syndicate in Japan.

He left for Japan in November and was later arrested in Toyama.

Last month, he was charged under Section 246 of the Japanese Penal Code for fraud as well as Section 60 of the same code for committing a crime with at least one other person.

Commenting further, Hishamuddin said MHO and Faiq's family are working together to secure legal representation for him amid uncertainty over the facts of the case.

"This is because the facts reported so far are quite confusing, particularly whether Faiq was arrested with the alleged evidence or not.

"At the same time, the family believes he may have been exploited, but it is too early to draw conclusions until the facts of the case are known. For now, we respect the legal process in Japan," he said.

According to the NST report, initial accounts claimed that Faiq had been arrested with money and gold worth approximately RM500,000.

Necessary assistance

On Jan 23, Faiq mother, Noor Zuhaini Ismail, urged Malaysian and Japanese authorities to help locate her son.

She told a press conference that Faiq departed for Japan on Nov 8, initially informing the family that he was travelling to Kuala Lumpur for work.

His family later learned that he had boarded a flight to Tokyo instead.

"While in Japan, my son kept in touch with friends through Snapchat and WhatsApp until Nov 18. However, on Nov 19, we lost contact with him while he was in Tokyo.

"I was also told he was supposed to return to Malaysia on Nov 29, but he never came back as promised," she said.

She then lodged a police report on Nov 30, and the case was referred to the Foreign Ministry on Dec 8.

Yesterday, Wisma Putra confirmed that Faiq is being held at the Toyama Minami police station.

In a statement, it said that notification to any embassy of an individual's detention is not automatic, as it is a right exercised at the request of the detainee.

This is because Japan is a signatory to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963, it explained.

"Consular officers stand ready to provide all necessary assistance to Faiq, including facilitating communication and ensuring his welfare, subject to his consent and within the parameters of Japanese law.

"It must be noted, however, that the embassy cannot intervene in the judicial proceedings of a sovereign state or demand the release of a detainee," it said.

The ministry, through the embassy in Tokyo, will continue to monitor the situation, it added. - FMT