Friday, March 19, 2010

Maria Cecilia Silva considers compensation after wrongful arrest, detention over 'iced tea' drugs

Click here to read the news article.

I felt very upset the first time I heard this news because this is an incident that is bound to happen because of racial profiling in Australia. Just imagine planning your vacation and then being on a plane for several hours and then being escorted to jail and staying for five days. That will drive anyone insane especially if you cannot talk to your family for that period.

Whenever I go to an Australian airport, I always get checked for drugs and gunpowder. When Steven and I flew to the Philippines, he entered the departure gate smoothly but the security had to pat me down. It is very embarassing.

One may argue that it is because I am a Filipino but no, it actually happens without me showing my passport.

Customs has not yet apologized to Ms. Silva and I believe AUD 5000 is not enough compensation as she has been through a very traumatic experience. I think someone should be punished or held accountable.

2 comments:

Jan Michael Tordil said...

yes someone must be held responsible....

Unknown said...

Unfortunately, I have not heard anything about this news report anymore.