The 38-year-old man from Penang, when met on the second day of his release, admitted that he had yet to accept the reality that he had been acquitted of all the charges. He was a free man after spending four years behind bars.
Beh had been sentenced to death by the Singapore High Court in early 2020, but the death penalty was overturned in October when his appeal was accepted by a three-judge panel.
On March 2, the same panel of judges — Sundaresh Menon, Tay Yong Kwang and Steven Chong — also set aside the prosecution’s application to charge Beh with four lighter offences. The panel made a 2-1 decision in Beh’s favour.
“For more than four years, I slept in prison but last night I was in a hotel bed. It’s like this,” he said, describing the feeling inside him as being one of “heaven on earth”.
The jovial father of one never stopped expressing his appreciation for his lawyer, who is also helping to manage the documentation involved for his return trip home.
Wong Siew Hong provided temporary accommodation for Beh in a hotel, clothing as well as expenses until all arrangements and documentation for his return were completed.
Asked if he felt relieved, Beh did not answer directly but said he now knows what it means to be waiting for death.
“I was once sentenced to death by hanging. Only those on death row will know what they go through and understand the feeling of counting the days until that time arrives.
“Death will definitely happen to all of us even outside the prison, but then you do not know when.”
Asked about his plans after he returns to Penang, Beh admitted that he felt very “awkward”, especially about the changes in technology after being locked up in prison for about 52 months.
“There have been so many changes. I feel like I’m in another world. Some cashiers give me strange looks when I make cash payments. They ask if I have a card,” said Beh.
“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 trying to bring in about 500g of methamphetamine from Malaysia.
He had entered the republic on a motorcycle, registered in Malaysia, belonging to his friend.
Beh, in his defence, had claimed that he 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.