Nepali seeks justice in Malaysia Kathmandu, July 11 - A Nepali man, wrongfully jailed for 51 days and whipped on "baseless" charges in Malaysia, is seeking justice in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. Mangal Bahadur Gurung, 30, of Arughat (Gorkha district,) was wrongfully detained on March 15 during an Ops Tegas operation by Rela personnel and sent to Semenyih Detention Center, despite producing valid passport and other supporting documents proving his status as legal, according to Sunday Mail newspaper, published from Kuala Lumpur. At the time of his arrest, Gurung was fighting a legal battle for unpaid wages from Deen Café and Restoran Raya, both owned by the same employer, for whom he had worked for some 16 months since he reached Malaysia on September 3, 2003. Later, he was sentenced by the Petaling Jaya magistrate's court on March 23 to 10 months' jail and ordered to be given one stroke of the rotan (punishment by whipping) for entering the country "illegally". However, his conviction was subsequently set aside on May 12 when it was proven that he was innocent of all charges. He was assisted by a human rights NGO named Tenaganita in fighting the legal battle. At a press conference on July 5 in the Malaysian capital, Tenaganita director Dr Irene Fernandez urged the Malaysian government to make a public apology to Gurung. Gurung told journalists at the press conference that the 51 days he had spent in prison was tortuous. "It was a nightmare," he said. "I want the Malaysian Government to compensate me for all the pain I went through. "It's not about money. It is about justice. I don't want anyone else to suffer the same ordeal. If I were to just let the matter rest, more migrant workers would be taken advantage of," he added. Anyway, Gurung was given RM 13,000 (about Rs 247,000) plus plane tickets to travel home, by his employers as unpaid wages on June 14.

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