Briton Compensated For Being Stuck Inside Malaysia For 16 Years

[george]

Man compensated for being stuck inside Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A retired British soldier who said he was "falsely imprisoned" in Malaysia for 16 years after authorities seized his passport has won about $860,000 in damages, newspapers said Friday.

Ronald Beadle had sued Malaysia's tax office after it confiscated his passport in December 1981 to recover outstanding taxes, a move that barred him from leaving the country. The authorities finally stopped impounding his passport in 1998, though Beadle had settled in Malaysia and remained.

"His mind and self-esteem has been injured for more than 16 years," the Star newspaper quoted a High Court judge as saying when she ruled in favor of the 69-year-old from Derbyshire.

The judge said the tax office had acted arbitrarily and unreasonably in seizing the passport. But she did not think that Beadle had been "falsely imprisoned" as he had claimed.

Beadle was sent to Malaysia in 1961 to serve as part of a British army force stationed there. He later decided to settle down in the country and found a job with a helicopter company.

Beadle, whose Malaysian wife died three years ago, said he was not totally overjoyed with the ruling.

"No amount of money could have compensated the loss of 5,968 days when my passport was seized," the New Straits Times quoted him as saying.

--Reuters 2007-02-28

[george]

UK man wins Malaysia legal battle

KUALA LUMPUR: -- A British man has been awarded more than £400,000 in damages by a Malaysian court after he was prevented from leaving the country for 16 years.

Ronald Beadle, from Derbyshire, was trapped in Malaysia after the country's Inland Revenue Board ordered that his passport be seized over a tax dispute.

The judge ruled that the Inland Revenue Board had acted arbitrarily and abused its powers.

However, she did not accept that Mr Beadle had been falsely imprisoned.

Nor did she allow his claim for loss of earnings, arguing that it was purely theoretical that he could have made a living elsewhere.

Retire

The dispute started out as a simple mix-up over tax, and turned into a 16-year legal odyssey.

In 1981, Malaysia's Inland Revenue Board ordered that Ronald Beadle's passport be seized over a disputed sum of £3,000 ($5,874).

But it was not until 1998 that a court ruled it was his employers and not he who had failed to pay up.

In the meantime, Mr Beadle was forced to remain in Malaysia and was unable to return to Britain, even for his father's funeral.

Now the court has awarded him almost £440,000 ($861,551) in damages.

Mr Beadle, who first came to the country as a serviceman in the 1960s, says he would still like to retire in Malaysia.

--BBC 2007-02-28

[womble]

I wonder if a Thai court would order the state to pay up this much $ to a foriegner?

[LaoPo]

I reported on this on the 24th, but nobody seemed interested

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...=108098&hl=

LaoPo

[astral]

Not really Thailand related.

Would have been better in the General section.

[cdnvic]

In 16 years his embassy couldn't re-issue him a passport and cancell the old one? Sounds like he wasn't trying too hard to leave. The passport would have expired sometime in there.

Edited March 1, 2007 by cdnvic

[percy2]

In 16 years his embassy couldn't re-issue him a passport and cancell the old one? Sounds like he wasn't trying too hard to leave. The passport would have expired sometime in there.

I guess the ruling proves his case.

Obviously a new passport would not have an entry stamp.

Cheers

[bino]

"No amount of money could have compensated the loss of 5,968 days when my passport was seized," the New Straits Times quoted him as saying.

--Reuters 2007-02-28

$861,551 divided by 5968 = $144.36 per day, or more than $ 52 K per year. Not bad at all IMHO.

[meemiathai]

So £3,000 was all he needed to leave the country? He didn't really try very hard to leave the country, did he? Can't say it was a small amount though.

[cdnvic]

In 16 years his embassy couldn't re-issue him a passport and cancell the old one? Sounds like he wasn't trying too hard to leave. The passport would have expired sometime in there.

I guess the ruling proves his case.

Obviously a new passport would not have an entry stamp.

Cheers

He could have gotten out earlier if he'd tried. This case is kind of silly.

[toptuan]

I wonder if a Thai court would order the state to pay up this much $ to a foriegner?

Not likely, since Thai government entities regularly give out payments between 10K and 20K to the family in cases of wrongful death. Just my guess.

[dave111223]

I wonder how much tax the Inland Revenue Board will take out of the settlement

[h90]

In 16 years his embassy couldn't re-issue him a passport and cancell the old one? Sounds like he wasn't trying too hard to leave. The passport would have expired sometime in there.

I guess the ruling proves his case.

Obviously a new passport would not have an entry stamp.

Cheers

Well I guess there are ways out without entry stamp if you try hard enough....

[rainman]

Luckt this happened to him in Malaysia. Would he have stayed in Thailand for 16 years without a passport, he'd have to pay a nice overstay fee

[Jimjim]

Or he would have already died in prison like that prince fellow.