KUALA LUMPUR: The family of human trafficking victim Mala Vello, who is imprisoned in Nepal, will have to appoint a lawyer to free her from her seven-year jail sentence.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said there was a precedent case of a Malaysian freed using the same method.
"The ministry, through our mission in Kathmandu, is following this case closely.
"Our consul recently met (Mala). (Her) family needs to hire a lawyer to secure her release. She has served two years of her seven-year sentence.
"There is a previous case where a Malaysian offender was released through this method," he told the New Straits Times (NST), adding that Mala was in good health.
Previously, the NST had reported that Mala had her passport withheld by her alleged trafficker, who was her partner, for 10 years and was subjected to beatings, starvation and constant threats of gang rape if she tried to go to the police.
After mustering enough courage to leave her partner, she sought help from the authorities, only to be jailed for seven years for overstaying her visa.
Now 57, she has served two years of her sentence and wants to return to Malaysia to see her seven children.
Malaysian embassy in Nepal charge d'affaires Mohd Firdaus Azman had previously told the NST that the Nepali Foreign Ministry was recommending that Mala and another Malaysian be freed from jail.
He had said they were working with the Nepali Home Ministry to sign off on the recommendation for both victims to be freed.
He had said they were waiting for an appointment with the home secretary to follow up on the matter.
The Council for Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants said cases involving Malaysians suspected of being victims of human trafficking had been recorded in countries, such as Myanmar, the Philippines and Peru.
Some of them, when rescued, were found to have committed offences under the Immigration acts of those countries.
"They were subject to action under the countries' Immigration acts before being repatriated to Malaysia.
"Malaysian law, in this context, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, does not apply to other countries, which complicates actions by the Malaysian government since each country has different laws," it said.
For these cases, it said the Malaysian government would engage in bilateral or multilateral talks through diplomatic channels with the involved governments.