Father appeals to Malaysian government to help secure the release of his son and 46 other Malaysians from detention in Cambodia
Ted Sin shows a family photo, with Kok Siong in it.
KUCHING: The father of Chin Kok Siong, who is among 44 Sarawakians being detained in a prison in Cambodia, describes the situation as ‘feeling a hole in his heart’ when his son did not make it home for the Lunar New Year celebration.
Chin Ted Sin, 62, laments that nobody – not even the officials – seems to be able to tell him what really happened to his 33-year-old son.
“I don’t know who to turn to for help. All I can do is to wait.
“A police officer called me at 2pm on Jan 21. Before telling me that my boy was in jail in Cambodia, the police officer first told me to calm down, probably worried that I might suffer a heart attack or something.
“When I was told that my boy was in a Cambodian jail, I asked the police officer what had happened, but the police officer told me nothing. He did not even say where he’s calling from, but judging from the contact number shown, which begins with ‘03’, I decided that it’s police from KL (Kuala Lumpur),” he told The Borneo Post and Utusan Borneo when met at his residence in Taman Malihah here yesterday.
Ted Sin was alone at his residence at the time of the interview – it is learnt that his wife had gone to the Chingsan Yan Temple in Muara Tebas, praying for the safety of their son.
Kok Siong is the couple’s second child. He has an elder brother and four younger sisters.
Before travelling to Cambodia in the hope of making a higher income, Kok Siong worked as a supervisor at a palm oil plantation in Bintulu.
Adding on, Ted Sin appealed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Malaysian Embassy in Cambodia to help secure the release of his son and 46 other Malaysians, who are currently being detained in Cambodia due to alleged involvement in illegal online gambling.
“All I’m asking for is his safe return. I don’t need him to make big money; he can look for jobs elsewhere. I just want him to come home safe and healthy.
“I believe this is the hope of all other parents as well. I hope our government and the embassy would do their best to bring our children home,” he pleaded.
According to Ted Sin, Kok Siong left home for the overseas job offer at end-November last year.
He said Kok Siong did not tell him that he was going to work in Cambodia.
“All he told me was that he’s going to work abroad.”
He said Kok Siong did call to tell him that he had landed safely in a foreign country.
Ted Sin never heard from his son since – until the police officer’s phone call last month.
Ted Sin said the police officer did give him a Cambodian contact number, which he tried to reach but could not acquire any information about his son.
He said he did not receive any message from Kok Siong.
However, he was informed that officials at the Malaysian Embassy in Cambodia visited the prison and had all the 47 Malaysians fill out some forms, which carried a message for a contact person in Malaysia.
“I do not know what company had promised to bring him there, or what job he’s going to do, but I read from the news reports that they did not have any job for quite a long time while being kept in a house.
“So what had happened in between? If they did not have any job, how did they support themselves? I do not even know when my son and the rest were arrested,” said Ted Sin.
According to the Malaysian Embassy in Cambodia, the 47 Malaysians were arrested in the city of Poipet, in the Banteay Meanchey Province of Western Cambodia on Dec 11 last year.
“I’m really not asking much. All I’m hoping for is that the Malaysian government and (Malaysian) Embassy would bring home my boy and 46 other Malaysians, and let them be reunited with their families.
“I also hope that (Tupong assemblyman) Fazzrudin (Abdul Rahman) and (Petra Jaya MP Datuk Seri) Fadillah (Yusof) would, as the YBs (elected representatives) of my area, lend a helping hand to secure the release of my boy,” appealed Ted Sin.
See Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5Vn4lCequE