Police release woman after 42 days of detention

PETALING JAYA: Police have released Rosemary Ginam on bail after holding her for 42 days, saying that they needed to take that long in order to facilitate investigations into all 136 police reports against her company.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Seri Comm Amar Singh said Rosemary, 38, was detained because she was the director of the company, Dulcet Travel and Tours, that allegedly duped customers with fake travel packages.

“The cheating case involves 136 victims nationwide, with losses amounting to over RM2.2mil.

“She was also the signatory to the bank account where the funds were deposited as well as the person who was found to have withdrawn the money,” he said yesterday.

Comm Amar said police would be advising that charges be brought against Rosemary soon.

Lawyer Sachpreetraj Singh Sohanpal said Rosemary was reunited with her family yesterday, despite being under a remand order until Aug 29.

Rosemary, 38, was handcuffed at her Kajang home in front of her children by policemen on July 17.

The family has maintained that Rosemary is a scapegoat.

Her husband, Hasan Jambai, 40, a spare parts salesman, has had to take time off from work to take care of their three children, aged 17, 14 and nine.

Since her arrest, Rosemary has been taken to police stations all over the country, including those in Kuala Lumpur, Perak, Penang, Melaka, Terengganu and Negri Sembilan.

Hasan lodged a report on Monday with the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) over the detention of his wife.

In July, The Star reported that 30 individuals lodged separate police reports after collectively losing thousands of ringgit to the travel company.

“Keeping someone in custody for 42 days without trial is excessive and an abuse of power by the police,” said Fortify Rights legal director Eric Paulsen.

Fortify Rights is a non-profit organisation based in South-East Asia that works to prevent and remedy human rights violations.