This Malaysian Man May Be Deported By The UK Because They Don't Believe He's Gay
A petition has been created to stop the deportation of Yew Fook Sam.
By Jia Vern Tham — 27 Feb 2019, 05:38 PM
67-year-old Yew Fook Sam, known as Sam, is a Malaysian man who left to the UK in 2005
According to Mirror, Sam got married when he was 30 years old, and had two children. However, his wife took their children and left him in 1988 after he was found having sex with transsexual women in Thailand.
The Guardian reported that Sam, who was seeking sanctuary due to his sexual orientation, first arrived in the UK on a tourist visa and has never left the country since.
Sam eventually settled in a government accommodation located in Liverpool after being arrested in 2016 for illegal work
According to Daily Mail, he spent 11 years working in the south of England before being sent to 10 months in detention in 2016.
Sam has since been active in the local LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community. Numerous pictures of him at Liverpool's Pride festivals have been put up by multiple news sites.
He has been trying to apply for refugee status in the UK, citing his fears of prosecution for being a gay man if he was to return to Malaysia
According to The Guardian, Sam fears he will be forced to go through conversion therapy in Malaysia, a pseudoscientific practice of trying to change someone's sexual orientation to homosexuality through psychological or spiritual interventions.
He also cited fears of being imprisoned for his sexuality, as homosexual acts are punishable under both civil and shariah law in Malaysia.
However, the UK Home Office has recently rejected Sam's final appeal for asylum, leaving him with the possibility of getting deported back to Malaysia
In the court papers, Mirror reported the judge as saying that Sam's claim of being gay "was not a genuine and credible one". According to Liverpool Echo, Sam has been accused of lying about his sexuality as he does not have a boyfriend.
"I was so disappointed and depressed after being told that I was not gay. How can I prove it?" he said, according to Mirror.
"I tried to tell the Home Office that I am 67 years old. I don't need sex... But I am part of so many gay associations and have attended and worked as a steward at Pride festivals in Liverpool," Sam added.
"I want to be able to die openly as a gay man, not go back to Malaysia and keep it a secret," he said.
"Sam is 67 and in poor physical health, with limited English and income. It would be very difficult for anyone in that situation to enter a relationship," Kieran Bohan, a friend of Sam's, was quoted as saying by Mirror.
"They do not cease to be gay, bisexual or straight because they do not have a partner," he added.
A petition has been created in a bid to stop Sam's deportation back to Malaysia
The petition calls on the UK's Home Office to grant Sam asylum in the country. At the time of writing, 3,378 people have signed in protest of Sam's deportation.
Meanwhile, Sam is hoping to submit a new asylum claim, according to The Guardian. He will be providing the government with his national insurance cards and tax records.
The documents, according to him, will prove that he was not working illegally before being arrested in 2016. It will also explain why he waited until then to claim asylum based on his sexuality.