A man faces deportation to Malaysia, where homosexuality is illegal, after the Home Office said it did not believe he was gay because he did not have a boyfriend.
Yew Fook Sam claims he will be persecuted and imprisoned for his sexuality if he is deported to Malaysia, where homosexual acts are punishable under federal and sometimes Sharia law or he will be forced to undergo conversion therapy.
Sam arrived legally in the UK in 2005 on a tourist visa and never left. He says he was forced to flee Malaysia after his wife found out about his sexual preference and left him. Unable to live openly as a gay man in Malaysia, he sought sanctuary in the UK. He worked and paid taxes until he was arrested in 2016 and spent 10 months in Harmondsworth detention centre near London, where he claimed asylum.
He applied for refugee status, was refused and then his appeal was turned down by an immigration judge in Manchester last October, who found Sam’s claim to be gay “incredible” even though evidence of his homosexuality was presented on his behalf. The judge dismissed the opinions of his supporters claiming they had been duped by Sam in order to make an asylum claim and remain in the UK although he did accept that gay men in Malaysia are at risk of persecution there.
On appeal, the judge questioned why Sam could not prove any past gay relationships between 2005 and 2016 if he had in fact left Malaysia in order to express his sexuality.
The 67-year-old, who has depression and claims to take 20 tablets a day for various conditions, says he doesn’t have a boyfriend because he only came out two years ago after finding acceptance at St Bride’s, an inclusive Christian church in Liverpool. His supporters have highlighted the fact that had the tables been turned, a 76-year-old heterosexual’s sexuality would not be challenged solely on the grounds that they did not have a partner.
Over 1,000 people have signed a petition demanding the Home Office let him stay, after he lost his final appeal at an immigration tribunal in October 2018 and Sam now hopes to submit a fresh asylum claim. He wants to provide new evidence, including his national insurance card and tax records, which he says shows he was not working illegally prior to his 2016 arrest and therefore explains why he waited until then to claim asylum based on his homosexuality.
While the Home Office refused to comment on this specific case, a representative noted that the UK government has a record of providing protection for asylum seekers fleeing persecution because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and remains a world leader in its approach to handling this type of asylum claim.
