Sin Chew reporter released - The Star

By Derrick Vinesh and Christina Chin

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Warm hugs from her anxious family members and friends saw Tan Hoon Cheng almost breaking down in tears as she returned home in Taman Alma, here at about 4.15pm Saturday.

The 33-year-old Sin Chew Daily reporter, who was detained Friday under the Internal Security Act (ISA), was released in less than 24 hours.

She was all smiles as she spoke to her family and friends for a mere 20 minutes before heading to stay at a friend’s house to avoid the media.

Clad in a pale orange T-shirt and jeans, Hoon Cheng remained calm and composed, as four police officers dropped her off in a four-wheel drive at 4.15pm.

Her brother Weng Tong, 37, said Hoon Cheng told him that she was taken to the Perak police headquarters in Ipoh instead of the Bukit Aman Police Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur as they had initially thought.

“The police drove her from the Penang police headquarters to Ipoh at about 8.30am and returned to the same place on the island at about 2.30pm.

“Due to slight traffic congestion on the Penang Bridge, they only reached our home in Bukit Mertajam at about 4pm,” he said Saturday.

[More at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/13/nation/20080913100931&sec=nation]