KUALA LUMPUR: After nine years in remand, a 47-year-old Orang Asli man finally tasted freedom outside prison earlier Friday (Aug 28) - all thanks to a letter he wrote five months ago requesting help.
Lawyer Kamal Hisham Jaafar shared the account, saying that Jambi Anak Chang Taa Nam wrote him a letter recalling their relationship.
“The letter mentioned that we had met 17 years ago, together with his father, who was a batin of an Orang Asli village in Johor, during a Kembara Mahkota Johor programme.
“I was the secretary at the time.
“After reading the letter, I visited him while he was under remand and began thinking of how I could help him walk as a free man,” he said in a Facebook post on Friday (Aug 28).
Jambi was remanded on charges under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
Kamal Hisham was later reported as saying that the release ended years of waiting as Jambi's murder trial dragged on.
“When I came in, the prosecution was still presenting its case.
"I showed the prosecution that the case against him was very weak.
"Previous representations submitted by Jambi's former lawyers had also been rejected," he was quoted as saying.
He was also reported to have represented Jambi on a pro bono basis, with the charge subsequently amended under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code, eventually paving the way for Jambi’s release.
