SINGER Najmi Niery recently described a traumatic experience in which he and seven fellow musicians were wrongfully detained.
The incident left a lasting impact on the 23-year-old singer, reported Berita Harian.
Najmi recalled that despite the organisers’ assurances that all necessary permits for the event were in place, the trouble started when the group performed at the Makassar Festival in Indonesia at the end of last year.
“We were told that everything, including performance permits, was taken care of by the organisers. We simply came to perform,” Najmi explained.
He said after their performance, they were shocked when they were told to leave the stage at the orders of Immigration officials.
Their passports were confiscated and they were informed that they would be detained for performing without proper permits.
Desperate to resolve the issue, they tried contacting the event organisers, but they were not reachable.
“They took us to the Immigration headquarters for questioning which lasted from 9am to 6pm,” Najmi said.
“Thankfully, a friend who had accompanied us was able to contact our families and arrange for our release. The lesson here is not to rely too much on others.
“Always ensure everything is in black and white before agreeing to perform,” he said.
> Three men were arrested in Kota Baru, Kelantan, for smuggling contraband cigarettes worth RM172,352, in separate locations last Sunday.
According to Sinar Harian, Kelantan Customs Department director Wan Jamal Abdul Salam Wan Long said the cigarettes bore counterfeit tax stamps, and the men received RM300 each for transporting the goods.
Wan Jamal said the suspects, aged between 30 and 47, were transporting boxes containing 254,800 contraband cigarettes.
He said the suspects were released on bail, ranging from RM20,000 to RM30,000, while investigations continue.
“These cigarettes were likely brought in by truck via land routes for the east coast market, specifically to Kelantan,” he said.
● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.
