Framed and jailed 25 years in Cambodia.
Listen to the voice of the father who is pleading for help.
After seeing his son spending 7 years behind the bars, a Malaysian father has appealed to the government to bring back his 26-year old son who is being imprisoned in Cambodia for an alleged drug trafficking offence. M Karthigesu asserted that his son, Hemakavin, was tricked into travelling to Phnom Penh in 2016 under the guise of taking a vacation there by a drug trafficking group before being captured by the police at a hotel there.
Here we’ve breakdown all the key point stated by Suara Rakyat Malaysia’s (SUARAM) press statement:-
- This incident took place in 2016, when Hemakavin -19 years old at the time- was offered free flight tickets to Cambodia for a holiday by his girlfriend.
- He and his girlfriend had persuaded his father to allow him to travel to the Cambodian capital for a holiday.
- Then, Hemakavin was told that her girlfriend’s sister and her boyfriend would also be joining them for the trip too.
- On the day of departure, Hemakavin was informed by his girlfriend that he would have to leave for Cambodia on his own first, due to technical issues with their tickets. However, she promised that she would join them later.
- Upon arriving in Cambodia, Hemakavin was contacted by a stranger who introduced himself as his girlfriend’s friend.
- Hemakavin was asked to go to a hotel room on his own to rest first and help check if his girlfriend’s belongings were in the room.
- As soon as Hemakavin entered the hotel room, he was arrested and handcuffed by the Cambodian anti-narcotics police officers.
- Hemakavin and another Malaysian national were charged with drug trafficking.
Upon arrested:-
- The Cambodian police officers instructed Hemakavin to hold a metal box for a photo of him to be taken.
- He was then accused and tried in court, with his fingerprint on the metal box presented as court evidence.
- Based on this evidence, Hemakavin was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in prison and a fine of 40 million riel (approximately RM45,000).
- Hemakavin’s appeal at the Cambodian Court of Appeal was also dismissed.
According to the report, Karthigesu stated that he had tried everything to save his son and urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to bring up this matter when he travels to Cambodia later this month on official visit.
Hemakavin’s court appearance was “shrouded in doubts,” according to Suaram attorney Farida Mohamed, who questioned it.
“The trial did not include the important witnesses. These people include the investigator, the cop who detained him, and specialists like chemists. The person who made the hotel reservation was also not contacted,” she claimed.
Further explaining, she said that Hemakavin had trouble interacting with the authorities and comprehending the court proceedings because of the language barrier and the interpreter did not speak English properly.
The co-chairman of the Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), Charles Santiago remarked the authorities must delve into the elements of human trafficking in this case.
“Many youngsters have been tricked into working as drug mules. Hemakavin seems to have been set up and was a victim of human trafficking,” he added.
Karthigesu claimed that he has ran out of money to fight for his son, but he pledged to keep trying since Hemakavin had urged him to hold onto hope.
“When I first saw him (early in 2020) at the jail, he told me, ‘Dad, be patient, be strong. I’ll return soon’.” Karthigesu revealed.
“I want the governments of Malaysia and Cambodia to show my kid some sympathy. He said, “I’m hoping he’ll be returning for Deepavali.”
Check out this animated presentation of the father narrating the entire scenario of what happened:-
Let’s spread this news so it gets the attention of upper authorities.
Source: [1]
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