Malaysia parents seek return of son exiled for allegedly possessing stolen motorcycle

Malaysia parents challenge gov’t exile of teen son

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A Malaysian teenager banished by the government for allegedly possessing a stolen motorcycle sought a court order Wednesday for him to be returned to his parents.

Authorities arrested Jagendran Panir Selvam and two of his 16-year-old friends in central Selangor state last December under a law that lets suspected criminals to be detained without trial or exiled to other districts. Jagendran was then 17, but recently turned 18.

Their arrest under Malaysia’s Emergency Ordinance sparked criticism by human rights activists, who urged the government to charge them in a court for minors or to release them unconditionally.

Police told their families’ lawyers that they were held for possessing a stolen motorbike and being a public nuisance, but did not elaborate.

The teenagers were released from police custody without being formally charged in March, but were ordered to live indefinitely in specially assigned districts where authorities could monitor them.

Jagendran now lives at a relative’s house in a separate state just south of Selangor and no longer attends school. His parents, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) away, want him to be able to move back home.

Lawyers representing Jagendran and his family filed a lawsuit against the government in a Kuala Lumpur appeals court Wednesday to challenge the restrictions. No date was immediately scheduled for a hearing.

“He is our son, and he did no wrong. That’s why we are fighting,” Jagendran’s father, M. Panir Selvam, a 54-year-old truck driver, told reporters.

Families of the other teenagers did not participate in the case.

Lawyers for the Home Ministry, which handles the detentions, did not speak to reporters at the court.

The government has long insisted that laws providing for indefinite detention without trial are necessary to protect the country from dangerous criminals who cannot be charged in court because of insufficient evidence.

Nalini Elumalai, a representative of Malaysian human rights group Suaram, said several cases of detained minors are reported every year. Activists estimate more than 800 people are now held without trial under the Emergency Ordinance, which is generally used for alleged criminals, and the Internal Security Act, which imprisons terrorist suspects and other people accused of threatening national security.

Some adult suspects have challenged their detention under the Emergency Ordinance in the past, but most have failed to secure their release.