[ad_1]
SINGAPORE: “I woke up this morning and my hands were shaking,” said Beh Chew Boo, a Malaysian who was acquitted of five charges of bringing drugs to Singapore and escaped from the gallows.
The 38-year-old from Penang, when meeting on the second day of his release, admitted that he had yet to come to terms with the reality that he had been cleared of all charges. He was a free man after spending four years behind bars.
Beh, who was sentenced to death by the High Court in early 2020, escaped the noose in October after a three-judge panel of Singapore’s Court of Appeal accepted his appeal.
On March 2, the same panel of judges, Sundaresh Menon, Tay Yong Kwang and Steven Chong, also overturned the prosecution’s request to impose four lesser charges on Beh. The panel made a 2-1 decision in Beh’s favor.
“For more than four years, I slept in prison but last night I was in a hotel bed. It’s like that, ”he said, describing the feeling inside him as“ heaven on earth ”.
One’s jovial father never failed to express his appreciation to his attorney, who is also helping him manage the paperwork involved in his journey home.
Wong Siew Hong provided temporary accommodation for Beh in a hotel, clothing, and expenses until all arrangements and documentation for her return were completed.
When asked if he was relieved, Beh didn’t answer directly, but said that he now knows what it means to be waiting for death.
“I was once sentenced to death by hanging. Only those sentenced to death will know what they are going through and will understand the feeling of counting the days until that moment.
“Definitely death will happen to all of us even outside of prison, but then you don’t know when.”
When asked about his plans after his return to Penang, Beh admitted that he felt very “uncomfortable”, especially with changes in technology after being in prison for about 52 months.
“There have been so many changes. I feel like I’m in another world. Some tellers look at me strangely when I make cash payments. They ask me if I have a card, ”Beh said.
“I also need to adapt to all the rules related to Covid-19,” he said, while asking the writer about the latest situation in Malaysia.
Beh was arrested at the Woodlands checkpoint in October 2016 for allegedly attempting to bring in around 500g of methamphetamine from Malaysia. He entered the republic on a motorcycle, registered in Malaysia, belonging to his friend.
Beh, in her defense, had claimed that she did not know there were drugs in the motorcycle’s storage compartment.
He is expected to return to his hometown in Batu Kawan, Penang, on Thursday.
