The Indonesian government’s top representative in Tawau, Sabah, is in discussions with its citizen, who was wrongfully imprisoned and whipped in the state, to make compensation claims for human rights violations.
Its consul at the Consulate in Tawau, Heni Hamidah, told Malaysiakini that they would first focus on applying for an immigration pass that would permit Sabri Umar to remain in Malaysia while pursuing his unfair dismissal filed at the Industrial Relations Office.
Heni (above) said she would speak to the immigration director in Kota Kinabalu, Sharifah Sitti Saleha Habib Yusof, to request a 30-day extension to Sabri’s immigration pass.
His current 14-day-pass expires on Aug 24.
Meanwhile, Sabri remains at an undisclosed location in Tawau awaiting a court date to pursue his unfair termination complaint, filed under Section 20 of the Industrial Relations Act 1967, with the assistance of the Sabah Timber Industry Employees Union (STIEU).
Heni said the termination of Sabri’s employment on April 4 in an unfair manner was what led to the series of events that resulted in his unlawful imprisonment and whipping.
The 31-year-old from South Sulawesi who had been working in Fu Yee Corporation, a plywood factory in Kalabakan, Tawau, for the past seven years was arrested on the next day, April 5.
He was investigated under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 but eventually charged under Section 6(1) (c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, despite having legitimate documentation.
A chronology of events then led to the Tawau Sessions Court sentencing Sabri to 11 months in prison and five strokes of the cane.
He was administered the five strokes in Tawau prison despite a pending notice of appeal.
A month after the lashing, the High Court in Tawau acquitted Sabri on July 22 but noted that he had already been caned.
Following his acquittal, Sabri told Malaysiakini that he would seek justice even though he was terrified of being re-arrested under the sexual offence allegation and of finding himself behind bars as swiftly as he was put there the first time.
Sabri claimed to be innocent of both charges saying that the sexual misconduct accusation was the result of alleged manipulation over an incident where he fell off a chair and collided with a 14-year-old girl who, along with her family, stayed at the same workers’ quarters as he did.
Wrongful detention
Also in support of justice for Sabri, labour rights groups handed a memorandum to Suhakam on Aug 10, calling for a public inquiry into the human rights violations suffered by Sabri.
Heni said she was also in talks with leaders from STIEU, who have indicated that they would secure legal representation for their union member Sabri.
“With his consent, they will file suits against parties who were connected to events that led to his wrongful imprisonment and whipping.
“We will also look into filing a suit against the employer as well.
“If he has a lawyer, we will provide him with all the support and assistance he needs,” Heni added.
STIEU secretary Engrit Liaw confirmed that among the violations against Sabri was his alleged detention under police custody without a remand order.
Liaw related that in Sabri’s interviews, he was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of his arrest or any time before April 19, when he was charged for illegal entry into Malaysia.
She explained that he was allegedly detained without a remand order for 13 days.
Plywood factory blacklisted
Heni said the consulate has blacklisted Fu Yee from employing new Indonesian workers in their factory and was withholding all of the company’s new job orders for recruitment.
She also relayed that the plywood factory had a poor track record with the Labour Department as they had received many overtime-related complaints from workers.
Glad for the support from the Indonesian government, Sabri alleged his relationship with his bosses started to sour after he joined STIEU.
Sabri was among 31 local and migrant workers in the Fu Yee factory who sought their unpaid wages in 2020.
Wrongful termination
Liaw, who was also the union representative to the Industrial Relations Department, said there was no domestic inquiry carried out before Sabri’s termination.
“He was not given a chance to defend himself and the letter of termination did not state what was his wrongdoing.
“The letter was very vague and in two lines declared that the company had decided to terminate Sabri after an ‘incident’.
“The letter refers to an incident that took place at 5pm on April 1 but does not specify what the incident was,” she explained.
The letter also suggested that an internal investigation was done but no report was shared, she added.
Liaw described that the letter was signed by the factory’s administrative officer, Justine Yong, but nothing else was provided.
She was confident that Sabri would be reinstated as it was obvious from the letter that false charges were brought against him.
However, Liaw said after their first round of discussion with industrial relations officers, the company had refused to reinstate Sabri.
Fu Yee director and owner Hong Rong Ching declined to speak to Malaysiakini.
According to his workers, the Taiwanese has made Sabah his second home and often joked with them in Bahasa Malaysia.
In a brief telephone call with Malaysiakini, Hong answered in Bahasa Malaysia but then claimed he did not understand the language after the reporter introduced herself - after which he ended the call. - Mkini
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