He left his family in Trengganu to work in Singapore. Only 18 years old, he was looking forward to supplement his family income. He is the only son in a family of 4 children and his father works as a driver.
He paid an agent $3000 and landed a job in as a cashier in a food court in January. Soon, he found himself having to pay fot the cash shortfall resulting from his oversights. He was getting paid less than the $800 salary that he was supposed to be getting and took some money from the tills to top up his ez link card and to cover the shortfalls. He was arrested in May and spent 2 days in remand. Shortly after he was released on bail, his employer cancelled his work permit and evicted him from his lodging.
His bailor friend provided him with a place to shower but by 6 pm everyday, he has to leave before his friend's wife returns home. They are newly married and it was not appropriate for him to bunk in. So for the past couple of weeks, this boy has been sleeping everywhere and anywhere. One night, while he was sleeping out in the open at Siloso beach, someone stole his watch and ipad.
I met him at the foot of the block of flats where his friend lives. He looked lean and has been fasting. He speaks in English but slowly and told me that the police are still investigating his case.They have asked him to report next month and he has no income anymore. With only $7 left in his wallet, he does not know where his next meal will come from after that is spent. My friend Lai Lan, who brought his plight to my attention, has liaised with the Malaysian embassy but does not know if they have written yet to the police to expedite the case. She intends to follow up.
He says he has taken not more than $250 in total but his boss has
forcefully taken $400 from his wallet before he was evicted. He felt
helpless at the injustice he has suffered and hopes to go home as soon
as possible. But he is now stuck between a rock and a hard place, with
no job, no money and no roof over his head. At only 18 years old and
marooned in a foreign land, one cannot help but feel sorry for him. And
his parents would be worried sick.
The immediate concern was to provide him with shelter to keep him safe and warm. Nor Lella Mardiiiah, a volunteer with Project Awareness, kindly agreed to provide him shelter. But before leaving for the shelter, we brought him for dinner, shop for his toiletries and rations, top-up his mobile pre-paid card and pass him $50 cash. Having settled him in at the shelter I asked him to show me his family photo but unfortunately the only photo he has was in the ipad that was stolen from him. I told him to contact his parents and he could finally assure them that he was safe.
After so many weeks, he finally has a fresh change of clothes and a bed to sleep in. Before leaving him at close to midnight, he shook my hands and I finally saw it. His big smile.
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