The sister of Richard Lau, 41, was reported by The Star today as saying that their elderly parents were pining for his return, and hoped to see him back home during Chinese New Year in February.

“We hope that the government will intervene, given Malaysia’s close relationship with the UAE (United Arab Emirates),” said Lau Yii Hung.

“Our aged parents are worried sick. We are going to miss him for Christmas and New Year. We really hope that he will be home for the coming Chinese New Year celebration,” she added.

According to The Star, Richard was arrested on April 28, having been posted to Ras Al Khaimah, the northernmost emirate of the UAE, by a Miri-based Malaysian marine transport company as a project coordinator in its subsidiary there five years ago.

It said an Emirati partner of the subsidiary had lodged a complaint accusing Richard of stealing wages.

The money paid to Richard was actually his salary for carrying out his work as instructed by the parent company, it added.

“It seems that the Emirati was unhappy with this arrangement by the parent company and misconstrued it as theft,” Yii Hung was quoted as saying.

“Richard was just an employee and he did nothing wrong. He was only getting paid for doing his job,” she added.

She said Richard sounded down in their last phone conversation, and not like his usual self in the last few months when he was hopeful of his release because he believed he had done nothing wrong.

In a statement on Dec 12, UK-based civil rights group Detained in Dubai said Richard’s detention continued to be extended every two weeks, despite there being no evidence against him, as the public prosecutor requested more time to investigate.

“Every other accused party has been released, while Richard remains in jail,” it said.

“In Ras Al Khaimah, as throughout the UAE, accusations are sufficient to justify arrest and detention, particularly when they are levelled by a local,” it added.