KUALA LUMPUR: What started off as a good intention quickly turned into a nightmare for a makeup artist when she was imprisoned for 30 days by the Chinese authorities for allegedly carrying traditional medicine.
Recalling the traumatic experience, Lisa Lim, 45, said she and her friend were on their way back to Malaysia after vacationing in Kunming, China, on Jan 7.
While at the airport, her friend, a person known as Datin Ng, had asked Lim to carry her bag because she had other luggage to carry.
"Without thinking, I helped carry the bag before being stopped by airport authorities at the immigration checkpoint.
"The inspection revealed a large quantity of compressed Chinese medicine in pill form," she said when met at a press conference at Wisma MCA yesterday.
Also present were MCA Public Services and Complaints Department Chief Datuk Seri Michael Chong and the department's Legal Advisor, James Ee.
Lim said that although sniffer dogs did not detect any drugs in the bag, the Chinese authorities still detained her.
According to Lim, her friends left her at the airport and immediately boarded a flight back to Malaysia on the same day.
Lim was told that she would be released within three days, but she was detained in a lockup for 30 days before her release on Feb 7. She returned to Malaysia the next day.
"I was released after the Chinese authorities were satisfied that the bag did not contain any drugs.
"During the 30-day detention, I was unable to contact my family and friends, leading to speculation that I was involved in criminal activities," she said.
Upon arriving in Malaysia, she met with Ng to seek an explanation regarding the matter.
However, her friend seemed indifferent to what had happened and denied carrying any medicine in the bag.
Another friend who was also on the same trip asked Lim to forget about the incident (detained by Chinese authorities).
Meanwhile, Chong said that the bitter experience of being detained by Chinese authorities had damaged Lim's reputation and caused significant pressure on her and her family.
"Lim is fortunate to have been released, and no drugs were found in the bag. In this case, she does not blame the Chinese authorities because she knows they are just doing their job.
"However, the actions of her friend were highly irresponsible because she showed no concern for what happened," he said.
Ee advised Lim to consider taking legal action against her friend.