In the last article, we talked about how quickly things can change within a short period of time. We talked about how a team from almost losing a soccer final game to becoming a champion, all within minutes. Therefore, whichever way we look at it, we must never let our guards down nor must we ever be complacent. I know - words of wisdom are always easy to say but they become a challenge when put to practice. I am going to share with you a real story regarding turning things around at the final hour. I will call the story, “the Reluctant Estate Manager”.
A few years after I was called to the Malaysian Bar, I was asked to represent an Estate Manager who was charged for harbouring illegal foreign workers. There were only two foreign workers involved but nevertheless, he was charged. If I recall correctly, the penalty and sentence then was a minimum of RM500.00 and the maximum was 2 years imprisonment. The Estate Manager was an elderly man who was in his 60s at that time. Being a junior lawyer at that time, I was handed this file as it was a case with very low chance of winning as far as the defence was concerned. During those days, it was common for junior lawyers to be given cases with very little hope for success. This was to send a message to the junior lawyers that preparing for hearing was no easy feat and to remind young lawyers to never have the mindset that handling a court case is a walk in the park, ie: expecting to win all the time.
By perusing the facts of the case, it became apparent to me that the defendant had more or less a “gone” case as it clearly shows that he had contravened the law. I asked my senior legal colleague why doesn’t he just plead guilty and we can plea bargain with the prosecution. My senior colleague informed me that route has already been suggested, explored and has in fact (informally) proposed to the prosecution where it was agreed that a minimum penalty of RM500.00 would be imposed. However, the Estate Manager was reluctant to plead guilty. His employer was even willing to fork out the fine of RM500.00 for him and also gave him the assurance that his job, seniority and salary will not be affected but nothing could change the Estate Manager’s mind. So, here I was, been given the file with no hope of winning and told to conduct the trial in a small town called Temerloh in the state of Pahang. At that time, I was the most junior lawyer in the law firm and none of the other lawyers would want to make that long drive to Temerloh, stay overnight and return the next day. Those days, the road to Temerloh was pretty winding and narrow, so it was a norm to leave a day early so that we would have enough sleep, wake up fresh and be ready for trial the next day. It also happened that the trial date coincided with the “Ramadan” fasting period so it wasn’t an easy drive to Temerloh with heavy traffic on narrow and winding roads.
I remember that I left for Temerloh from the office right after lunch and did not arrive until close to 7.00pm which was about the time for “breaking fast” during the Ramadan period. All the eateries and restaurants were crowded due to the “breaking fast”, so I went to the bazaar and bought myself 20 sticks of chicken satay and brought them to my small room in the motel for dinner. While eating, I was flipping through the file but still couldn’t find any points or silver lining that can help me in the trial tomorrow. Resigning to the fact that the case more or less would be a “goner”, I turned in early and went to sleep.
Next morning, I woke up really early, had a cup of coffee, checked out from the motel and left straight for the Court. In the Court, I met the Estate Manager face to face for the very first time (though we have spoken numerous times over the phone). He was indeed an elderly man in his sixties at that time, soft spoken and a decent fellow. I have read his biography and he has been a long and outstanding employee with his Company. The reason his employer was taking an interest in his case was because of his past track record as well as they knew that there was no malicious intention on the Estate Manager’s part. The Estate Manager was just ignorant of the law but that is no excuse when it comes to legal consequences. Since I was early, I sat down with him and talked to him about some personal stuff just to get to know him better like his years of service in the Company, his family, hometown, etc. I found the Estate Manager to be a frank, loyal, responsible and a polite man. I then asked him the million dollar question which is “Why did you hire the illegal foreign workers?” He said he didn’t know the foreign workers were illegal. To him it was simple - he needed casual workers to work in his estate and so he just engaged them. He paid them daily and went on with his normal routine. I then asked whether he had checked the foreign worker’s ID or passport. He said he did not as in the village where the estate is situated, everything is based on trust. It was a simple answer from a simple person which made the case even harder for me. I then reiterated to him about his legal position, how the law sees it and his chances of winning which are rather slim. The Estate Manager informed me that he knows his chances are very slim but he wants to go all the way in the trial even though he realised that it doesn’t make any sense to me or anyone else. I then asked him the all important question which is “why are you doing this?” This was what he said, “Do you know how humiliated I felt when the police came and handcuffed me in the middle of the night in front of my workers and villagers? They treated me as if I were a big criminal. I am the Estate Manager, holding a respectable position in the estate and the village. People look up to me and now I have been humiliated in front of my own people. Therefore, I will not make it easy for the police or anyone else to pull me down like this!” I could empathised with the Estate Manager. My next question was “How many immigration officers were there?” He replied, “none”. When I heard his reply, my eyes lit up and suddenly got excited. I told him I need to check the Immigration Act on a particular section. After reading the section over and over again, I informed the Estate Manager that I might be able to get him off, though it would be a long shot. I quickly had a chat with the Deputy Public Prosecutor and he agreed to adjourn the case to allow me to make a written representation to the State Legal Advisor for the charges to be dropped.
You see, at that time the Immigration Act specifically states that only the Immigration officer or a person with a written authorisation from the Immigration Department, could arrest a person for harbouring illegal foreign workers. In this case, there wasn’t any immigration officer nor was there any written authorisation given to the police. Therefore, I made my representation based on those grounds and the charges were later dropped by the prosecution against the Estate Manager. Not long after our case was closed, the Immigration Act was amended to include the police as well in arresting a person for harbouring illegal foreign workers.
As you can see from the above, the Estate Manager’s fortune could turn around in a matter of minutes because in this case, there was a technical error in the arresting procedure. We were also rather fortunate as the Estate Manager’s story was told rather casually just minutes before the Court convened. So, what I have learned from this experience? Always, expect the unexpected, one can never be 100% sure of everything!
Great article!
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