“You know what the decision is right?” The Detention Order.

Article #14

I needed to submit my mitigation statements. Tim told me that it would happen before they make judgement on my case.

He repeated that he would give me “reams and reams of paper” to write the truth.

On 26th July, the Gurkha officers took me out of the cell. I was taken to a small room where the barber, a Chinese man with permed hair was waiting. My hair was cropped thin, almost fully shaven.

In the cell, the prison ISD officers accompanied by 2 Gurkha officers gave me a shave and told me to shave my goatee. Roslan had earlier told me that I would not be required to shave, but the prison officers told me that I had to.

When I met with Tim, Ong and Roslan later, they feigned surprise.

“Why did you cut your hair?” Ong asked me. “Did you ask them to?”

“Of course not.” I took it easy. After all that had happened the last 4 weeks, having my head and goatee shaved were the least of my concerns. Although I knew that it made me look like a prisoner. If I was meant to be released, why would they shave my hair?

The next day, I was told that I would be meeting with one of the directors. Charlton’s boss. I would be told their decision. If they liked what I said, I would be released.

I could not think. For the first time, Tim allowed me to read The Straits Times sports pages. I could not focus. I kept reading the same paragraphs.

Finally, I was taken to a room. After a while, an Indian man in his 50s with a comb over walked in. He looked angry. I learned later that his name was S. Krishnan. He was one of the Directors.

“You hate your country so much.” He said.

“What?” I thought. Where did that come from?

He spent the next few minutes telling me off. He accused me of supporting ISIS and radicalising others. It did not make sense.

They knew that they forced me to make these statements. Why would they speak as though it was true?

After several minutes, he asked me “You know what the decision is right?”

I was confused. All I thought was, the ISD officers threatened my family and told me to agree with what they said to get me to sign those statements. They knew that. I was told repeatedly that I could write the truth during mitigation. I was still waiting for that.

Tim repeatedly told me they recommended for me to be released on Restriction Order.

But I could not say “release” when he asked me that question. That felt as though it was going against the grain of what he was saying. I was hoping that he would say, having signed all those statements, they were satisfied I was not a threat.

“Detention” I said.

“Yes. You know it right?”

My heart broke. How was I going to be with my family? How was I going to protect them? For at least the next two years, I would be kept in a cell.

Krishnan told me that I would meet with the Advisory Board (AB) in the next few months.

“But if they release you, we will have to bring it up to our bosses on how to detain you.” They would detain me regardless of any outcome of the AB meeting.

The next day, I met with Tim and the other officers again. Tim told me that I would be allowed to write my “mitigation” statement at the AB. Not before the ISD made the decision like he told me earlier.

He chuckled when he recounted my reaction to the detention announcement.

“You bend down” he said, imitating me lowering my head to the metal table when Krishnan told me their decision

“What did you expect to get?” he said, still smiling.

“Restriction order” I told him.

“Who told you, you would get Restriction Order? Did you Google it?” he laughed.

Continued in the next article.

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