Lawyer Philip Koh, who holds a watching brief for Ruth’s family, suggested this to inquiry witness and immigration officer Junainh Dalugamin during the hearing today.
“The critical date for our inquiry is sometime in the middle of November 2016. And based on the immigration records, your system did not show both of them leaving the country?” he asked.
Junainh agreed, adding that Joshua’s passport, registered under the name of “Hilmy Hanim”, was valid from Nov 24, 2015 to Nov 24, 2020.
“His last record of leaving the country through KLIA was on Dec 28, 2011 and he returned to Malaysia on Jan 7, 2012,” Junainh said, adding that Joshua had used his old passport at the time.
The Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) is holding the inquiry into the disappearance of Joshua, a Malay who had converted to Christianity, and his wife Ruth Sitepu. Both have been missing since November 2016.
The witness also said prior to the expiry of Joshua’s latest passport, the Immigration Department received a request from the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) to impose a travel ban against him on Oct 9, 2020.
According to Junainh, no passport renewal application was made after November last year by Joshua or anyone related to him.
“We will not issue a passport to the holder unless the travel ban is lifted,” she said.
To questions on Ruth’s Indonesian passport, Junainh said checks on the immigration system showed that there was no record of her leaving or entering Malaysia.
Suhakam commissioner and chairman for the inquiry panel Mohd Hishamudin Yunus then asked the witness if there was a possibility that Ruth entered and left Malaysia through “entry points that were not gazetted under the law”.
“The holder could be using another travel document,” she answered.
When asked by Muhammad Sabri, the police’s representative in the inquiry, about a claim that Joshua made in his book that he was arrested by Indonesian authorities for holding an expired passport, Junainh said she was not aware of it.
“If a passport has expired, our embassies will issue an emergency certificate to the passport holder so they can return home,” she added.
The hearing continues on July 16, where a witness from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will testify.