A member of the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) today slammed the Immigration Department today for its decision to deport the fiancee of a Keadilan leader who is being detained under the Internal Security Act.

"The decision not to allow Tian Chua's fiancee Mabel Au into Malaysia to visit him is difficult to accept," said commissioner Mehrun Siraj.

Mehrun added that the 12-member commission would investigate the matter after a letter of complaint to Suhakam was personally presented to Mehrun by Chua Tian See, sister of Keadilan vice-president Tian Chua.

Mehrun added that the commission would investigate whether there was abuse of power on the part of the authorities in deporting Au.

"We will try to find out whether there were any grounds for the denial of her entry," Mehrun said.

"Unfortunately the director-general (of Immigration) is given discretionary power to bar anybody who is deemed a threat to national security from coming in."

Au, who is a Chinese citizen residing in Hong Kong, arrived in Kuala Lumpur at 10.10pm on July 20 from Thailand.

She had planned to visit her fiancee Chua at the Kamunting detention camp where he is currently serving a two-year order under the ISA, which allows detention without trial.

However, KLIA immigration officers barred her from entering the country, saying that she has been "blacklisted for security reasons".

She was placed in a lock-up until her departure on a noon flight to Hong Kong the next day.

Denied access

Tian See, Chua's sister, expressed her bafflement at the Immigration's action.

"My brother's fiancee came with only one purpose, which is to meet him in Kamunting. We cannot understand why Au has been accused of being a threat to national security," she said in the letter to Suhakam.

Tian See also complained of how members of her family have been denied access to Chua.

"Our relatives are barred from visiting Tian on the excuse that they are not immediate family members," she said.

Later when speaking to malaysiakini , Tian See expressed shock at the way she had been given the runaround by Immigration officers when attempting to meet Au at the airport.

"Au was treated like a convict. We kept asking them 'why was she being deported?', and we were not given a definite answer," she said.