Leaving Malaysia - Part 1

"I really don't like doing this, but there is a a lot of “chatter” over here about the next attack — the mood is very much like the summer of 2001 and so I do think that something is going to happen soon. -— and so... for what it is worth - the specifics... 24 December - theaters + shopping malls in multiple locations."

Approximately twenty-Four hours after posting this message on the website Freerepublic, roughly 20 plainsclothes officers would descend on my restaurant and for the next 20 days I would be "detained" in the most deplorable and inhumane conditions perhaps known to man.

It has taken a while to document this, I'm still suffering and traumatized by the entire ordeal. I had never imagined that such cruel inhumanity existed today or that I would be one of those who would have to have the misfortune to experience it firsthand.

At first I suppose I had no idea what was happening, I was told that I would be taken to Putrajaya for questioning and then I would be released. I was not released, I would be detained for a minor visa infraction. It would be 20 days before I would deported to the United States with nothing except the clothes on my back. My business, my property and all my belongings all left behind. I would lose everything I ever owned.

( This isn't a joke friends this is real life, and I would be most appreciative if you would consider to DONATE via Paypal on the right hand side of this blog - it will help me to try to recover the losses that I have suffered - the publicity that I got ended up hurting me as you will come to learn)

I was placed in a crowded cell measuring less than 200sq feet with about 50 other individuals, at the back of the cell was a small plastic bucket, a faucet and a hole in the ground, no toilet paper or soap just a bucket and a hole.

The cold dark cell was so overcrowded that in the evenings you would need to crawl or step over bodies in an effort to relieve yourself. There were people who because of the overcrowding were forced to sleep on the floor just inches from the toilet hole. The smell that permeated the entire cell was almost indescribable, a mixture of unwashed bodies, stale urine and feces created a dank viscous odor that can only be described as ungodly. Throughout the nights people would shiver and cough.

When morning came breakfast was served, two pieces of white bread and small plastic bag with about 4oz of diluted tea or coffee. You cant be sure what it was, whatever you had it was diluted to the point where you couldn't tell if it was tea or coffee. I decided to share my food with another two detainees in the front of the cell so that I would not have to sleep in the back near the toilet hole.

There was a sign outside the cell that drinking water would be given to the detainees twice a day, but the reality was quite different, on average one five gallon container would be given to the cell per day to be shared by all the detainees. During my stay I would experience one stretch where no water was given for three days. For the first time in my life I would see grown men fighting over water.

It is difficult for me to describe the conditions that I experienced without being overcome with a flood of emotions. We treat our animals better than this.

Lunch was a small piece of egg omelet (about a quarter of an egg), a small fistful of boiled half-cooked rice and a small plastic bag with about 4oz of water. After lunch it was the same thing, either sit or stand and wait until dinner time.

Dinner was a piece of fried fish (often times rotten) about the size of 2 fingers, small fistful of boiled half-cooked rice and small plastic bag with about 4oz of water.

The meals were the same everyday, there was no change in the menu. There was no fruit or vegetables. Everyday you would be given the exact same thing.

Needless to say, malnutrition and disease was rife and requests for medical treatment were refused. Most of the detainees had lost a tremendous amount of weight, many detainees would use the rubber bands from the plastic water bags to fasten into makeshift belts to keep their pants from falling down. In my 20 days I would eventually lose a total of 22lbs and during that time I would only need to go to the toilet twice in 20 days.

On my fifth day I would be called out and interrogated, at first the officer seemed kind, he explained to me that his job was not to punish me but to help me. He asked me if he offered me a fine, would I be willing to pay it. I told him I might but that I wanted to know what I was being charged with and that I wanted to speak to my embassy and to a lawyer. His demeanor suddenly changed, he shouted at me and told me that this was not allowed to have a lawyer or to contact my embassy and not to make him angry or that he will make things worse for me.

About this time another officer walked by and asked what the problem was and before I could answer he asked me how were the conditions in the cell. I told him that they were bad and that there was no proper or healthy food. The officer apologized, smiled and asked me if I wanted an apple. The officer then offered me a cigarette and a glass of water and promised me an apple later, but that I would need to cooperate first.

The first officer now leaned across the desk and asked me if I was willing to cooperate. I nodded my head.

to be continued...

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