ROHINGYA refugee Salama Nazira was in tears as she waited at the Ampang magistrates’ courtroom where her youngest son, a 16-year-old minor, stood accused of violating the movement-control order after going out to buy rice and oil.

“I shouldn’t have let him,” she said. “This will get bad.”

Wearing a purple tudung, the 55-year-old despaired for the future. She and her husband, and their four children, are jobless after the movement-control order was imposed on March 18.

The boy, who was born in Malaysia, worked at a metal workshop.

Her pro bono lawyers, however, are confident. The boy and another friend, a 21-year-old man, were on a motorcycle when they were stopped at a roadblock in Pandan Indah, Ampang, in the afternoon of April 14.

Although the MCO bars people from travelling together, it allows for exceptions, said lawyer Collin Arvind Andrew.

“We have a valid reason. He was there to help transport rice, oil, flour and other necessities. You can’t do all that on a motorcycle without help.”

The plan was for the duo to claim trial and for a representation letter to be sent to the prosecution to drop the case.

In the small courtroom, a dozen people accused of violating the MCO did their best to observe social distancing. A single fan stood in place of an air-conditioner, which is no longer functioning. Everyone wore masks.

It took nearly three hours for the duo to claim trial, which is set for July 1.

The prosecution does not offer bail for non-Malaysians, said lawyer Chan Yen Hui.

“If they didn’t have lawyers to plead with the magistrate, they would be sitting in jail for three months awaiting trial.”

In the teenager’s case, his lawyer managed to convince the magistrate to offer him a RM500 bail.

Bail was posted by a family friend, a 24-year-old Indian Malaysian woman, who works at a nearby McDonald’s. The law requires bailors to be Malaysians.

“I don’t have a choice. I can’t let him stay in jail,” said the bailor, a neighbour to the family.

Collin said this is not the first case involving a Rohingya minor. Earlier, a 13-year-old orphan was remanded a week for violating the MCO.

“He has no parents, no money and he cannot work. He had to go out, out of desperation,” said Collin.

“The police not only arrested him, but handcuffed him, together with the other adults they picked up.”

The boy pleaded guilty at the Ampang magistrates’ court and was granted bail, pending a probation report from the Welfare Department.

Two strangers paid for the 13-year-old’s RM500 bail.

“It was two Malaysians who were also in court for violating the MCO.”

No SOP for minors

There are no standard operating procedures guiding the police regarding refugee minors, said Suhakam’s child commissioner Noor Aziah Mohd Awal.

However, the law, for example, forbids the handcuffing of minors under the Child Act 2001, which is guided by the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which Malaysia ratified in 1995.

“All children, including Rohingya, should not be arrested. They should not be charged or even be asked to pay summons,” said Noor Aziah.

“My suggestion is for the children to be warned, sternly, but to be sent home with a kind of guarantee from their parents that they would not be coming out again.”

As to why the police acted against minors in such cases, Noor Aziah said: “The government has stated they’re going to be very stern in applying MCO rules to break the chain of infections. So, they were under pressure, I understand that.

“However, even without the Covid-19 outbreak, there have been instances where they did not observe the Child Act. There are to be no handcuffs and you have to inform the parents or the Welfare Department when you pick up a minor.”

The police appear to have wide discretionary powers, where in some cases, instead of remanding minors, they are merely instructed to come to court when called by the investigating officer.

“What seems to be happening is that as the MCO is being extended, there’s an escalation on the number of arrests and the number of people who are being brought in to be charged,” said Sharmila Sekaran, chairman of non-profit group Voice of the Children.

“However, with children, you cannot treat them like adults. Their brains are not fully developed. Their ability to process information is different from adults.”

Sharmila said little has been done by the National Security Council and the Health Ministry to communicate the importance of the MCO specifically to children.

“The government has done nothing in this regard. A child’s comprehension of the current situation is not mature. They also witness that their parents are under stress and anxious. If you don’t come from a nurturing background, they don’t fully comprehend this.”

Lack of info

Currently, information regarding refugees under detention is scant among civil society groups as they are under quarantine.

“We were informed that some Rohingya got arrested and they were sent to court. But we don’t know what happened after they were sent to court,” said Rohingya Society in Malaysia president Faisal Islam Muhammad Kassim.

“If minors got arrested, that is a different issue. If they are registered with UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), the authorities should coordinate with UNHCR.

“Recently, some detainees were released but most of them are registered with UNHCR and they were detained for quite a long time. However, they were released. We really appreciate this and we thank the Malaysian government.”

UNHCR has yet to respond to requests for further information on the number of refugees detained. The NSC, meanwhile, has not released data on how many foreigners were detained during the MCO.

There are reportedly between 150,000 and 400,000 refugees from Myanmar already in Malaysia, with some here for three to four generations.

UNHCR has 101,010 Rohingya on its register as of February. – April 27, 2020.