Helpless and defenceless under Sosma

I REFER to the letter “Law to protect the helpless” ( The Star, Sept 25). I can agree with some of the views expressed by the writer, Datuk Khoo Ah See@Retired Mata Mata, but I have to make him and readers understand something about the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).

Why? Because I am one of the Sosma detainees and I am now on bail. The total number detained under this Act was 40 and we were in remand for seven and a half months. It happened when a murder took place at a petrol station and the culprits all escaped. The case was a national issue.

On Jan 14 this year, I was among the other 19 detained and remanded in the police lock-up and charged under the Sosma. We were detained for 28 days before being produced before the court to be referred to the High Court. We were detained at the Ulu Choh Remand Centre.

We were helpless and innocent and yet we were charged and detained. We lost our jobs and our family members had to sacrifice their time and money just to catch a glimpse of their loved ones every time we were brought to the court.

On top of this, we had to engage lawyers to defend us. Luckily, the deputy public prosecutor has now put the charge under the Societies Act, which is less scary than the Sosma.

So may I ask where is the law to protect us, the helpless and innocent?

Please use the Act only on terrorists and high-profile crimes. Don’t misuse it just to satisfy someone higher up and claim that the case is closed.

We were made to pay for someone else’s crime. Have we no right to live?