Wrongfully charged, sentenced to jail and lashed with five strokes of the cane in a single session, Sabri Umar, an Indonesian migrant worker with valid documentation, will seek justice even though he is terrified of being re-arrested.

Bracing himself, Sabri told Malaysiakini he would leave the claim amounts to the lawyers but was considering suits against: “My former employer Fu Yee Corporation, Tawau Prison and the Tawau Police Department.”

The 31-year-old from South Sulawesi, who had been...