Saifuddin defends detention of teen under Sosma

 The home minister says the 16-year-old was an important witness in a cross-border migrant smuggling case.

Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the girl was seated beside her father in a vehicle when he was nabbed during a probe into cross-border migrant smuggling. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

 Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has defended the detention of a 16-year-old girl under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma), saying police needed her to help investigate a complex cross-border migrant smuggling case.

He said the teenager was seated in the passenger side of a vehicle when her father was nabbed.

“Her father was a ‘transporter’ and clearly she is an important witness,” he told the Dewan Rakyat when winding up the debate on the king’s speech.

Saifuddin went on to say that the teenager was held for nine days.

He also said the detention of the 16-year-old was made under Section 4 of Sosma to help investigations into migrant smuggling, which he described as a serious cross-border crime.

Saifuddin said police were probing the smuggling of Myanmar migrants to Malaysia via the Thai border when the “transporter” was arrested.

Ramkarpal Singh (PH-Bukit Gelugor) then asked whether the government would impose a temporary moratorium on Sosma pending the tabling of amendments.

Saifuddin said there would be no moratorium for now.

However, he said the Cabinet had given the home ministry the green light to work on amendments to Sosma and that they would soon engage stakeholders.

“We aim to table the amendments when Parliament convenes in July or August.”

Saifuddin said one of the most criticised aspects of Sosma is that detainees are denied bail and the long delay in proceedings.

He said the government was looking at classifying offences by seriousness and expediting cases.

He said a special court is also being mooted to look into Sosma cases, given the long duration of such cases.

The teen’s detention under Sosma drew public attention after FMT reported the mother’s plea to release her daughter following her arrest at a roadblock near the Jitra toll plaza in Kedah.

The woman said police flagged down the vehicle in which the teenager was travelling, alleging it was being used to smuggle migrants.

The girl, along with her father and others in the car, were taken into custody.

While in detention, the teen suffered vomiting and developed skin allergies after being held for a week. - FMT