Heartbreaking scene unfolds as parents, children and officials hug and sob
CAMBODIA: It was heartbreaking to see all the 47 Malaysian detainees dressed in orange prison attire waiting for their parents or next-of-kin to visit them at Poipet, Banteay Meancheay provisional prison here.
Yesterday, as the Malaysian delegation led by Julau MP Larry Sng and comprising the detainees’ family members and reporters entered the prison hall, they were greeted with happy smiles and tears.
However, only nine persons – Larry, two family members of the detainees, a few reporters and officials – were allowed to enter the prison. The rest of the delegates and some reporters had to wait outside.
The media were also politely instructed by the prison officers not to take any pictures or record any speeches in and outside of the prison.
The detainees were calm and waited for the green light from the prison head to speak.
The prison head gave the detainees less than 40 minutes to talk to the families and Larry. They were not allowed to speak to reporters.
Zunita Sedini broke down and cried as she hugged her son Yusuf Islam, 21.
Another detainee Chong Jun Khong, 27, could not control his emotions the moment he saw his sister, Chong Mei Lan. They made full use of the time given to hug and talk.
The other detainees were also seen sobbing. They were hoping they could meet their parents and from the looks in their eyes, they just wanted to go home.
Even Larry and the reporters could not hold back their tears when they saw the other detainees sobbing.
Some of them took the opportunity to speak to Larry and asked him to convey their messages to their parents.
Zunita went into the prison bearing messages from 21 mothers who had asked Zunita to pass these to their children.
As the detainees received the handwritten letters from their families, they all burst into tears and said to one another, “Look, what our mother wrote.”
The detainees said the prison was taking good care of them.
It is learnt that 33 of the detainees are from Kuching, six from Sibu, three from Sabah and four from West Malaysia. One of the West Malaysian is still in the hospital after undergoing surgery in the abdomen.
The delegates began the journey to the prison at around 8.30am from Siem Reap International Airport (Cambodian time; they arrived there at around 10am).
Also present was Ruzaimi Mohamad, Deputy Chief of Mission/Charge d’Affaires, Embassy of Malaysia, who also shed tears when he saw the detainees crying.
To date, no details are available as to what would happen to the detainees.
It is understood the Malaysian government is still making efforts to resolve the problem.
