KUALA LUMPUR: A father whose son is serving a jail sentence in Phnom Penh for his involvement in drug trafficking has sought the government's assistance to bring his son home.
Seeking justice for his son, Karthigesu Muniyandy believed his son had fallen victim to a drug ring.
He also urged the Malaysian police to act against those responsible for trapping his son, Hemakavin Karthigesu, now 25 years old.
Karthigesu shared his experience with reporters at a press conference, saying it was upsetting to witness his son being falsely accused.
He recalled how skinny Hemakavin was and worried about his son's wellbeing while serving his sentence in prison abroad. The last time he saw his son was before the pandemic.
At the press conference, Charles Santiago, a former Klang member of parliament and co-chair of Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), said the case should be reviewed due to the potential presence of human trafficking.
Santiago, who cited the definition of human trafficking, said this was an instance of human trafficking in which a young man was duped to be used as a mule or in some other manner for financial gain.
He also called on the Malaysian authorities to proactively bring back Malaysians, not just Hemakavin, but others who were victims of similar syndicates.
"I think this is a question for the Malaysian government in looking at the problem from a human trafficking angle.
"This is not only for Hemakavin. It is an act for all Malaysians currently locked up in various countries for similar reasons," added Santiago.
To bring Hemakavin home, Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) also explored every option.
Its executive director, Sevan Doraisamy, and attorney Farida Mohd had carefully reviewed the legal documents related to Hemakavin's case that were given to them.
Sevan echoed Suaram's calls for the issue to be raised by the government and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during his anticipated trip to Cambodia at the end of the month.
Farida claimed that she also discovered irregularities in the case, including the Cambodian police officers' request that Hemakavin hold a metal box containing 2,016.8g of cocaine while being photographed, alleging that his fingerprints were then used as evidence in the case and subsequent trial in court.
Hemakavin was convicted of drug trafficking seven years ago by the Cambodian courts and sentenced to 25 years prison term and a 40 million riel fine (approximately RM45,000).
His then-girlfriend allegedly duped him when she invited him to travel to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with her, her sister, and her sister's boyfriend for a four-day vacation.
He was only 19 at that time and was enrolled in a college in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
In the 2016 incident, the girlfriend, identified as Premareeta Perumal, had called Hemakavin's parents seeking their permission for him to travel with them.
On the day the four were supposed to depart, Hemakavin had to travel alone as the other three could not join him due to technical reasons and could only travel the next day.
Suakam and Hemakavin's family believed, based on the case, that not only was he a victim of a drug syndicate, but he was also unfairly tried and convicted with fabricated evidence.
Thus, they felt that he deserved protection from the Malaysian government, a fair trial, and for the real perpetrators to be held accountable for their crimes and punished, as well as an end to more people being scammed.
