Last woman held under ISA freed

The Star
by IVAN LOH

KAMUNTING: The last female detainee under the Internal Security Act (ISA) has been released from the Kamunting detention centre here.

The 48-year-old former shipping clerk, who was detained for suspicion of human trafficking in April, tried hard to hold back tears as she spoke to reporters yesterday after spending 217 days in detention.

“Please do not name me or put my photograph in the newspapers. I want to protect my family. I have repented and just want to start anew. I want to forget about all this and move on,” she pleaded.

The mother of two said she was looking forward to going home to her children.

“I am going to get a job and start a new life,” she said.

The woman’s release comes three months after eight Immigration officers were released from detention under the ISA for their alleged involvement in human trafficking at the KLIA/LCCT around October last year.

The centre’s Assistant Com­missioner, Mohd Roslen Ramli, said the woman was being released due to the Government’s initiative to abolish the ISA.