Suffian LP (delivering the judgment of the Court):

Mr. Loh Wai Kong ("applicant" but before us respondent) was a student in Australia and in January 1966 married. On April 1975, he left Australia to come back home and, because he had been granted a Resident Visa entitling him to live permanently in Australia, his Malaysian passport was endorsed by the Australian Government with an Authority to Return valid for three years from that date.

On 2 August 1976, he was charged in Court in Ipoh with criminal offences. His passport was surrendered to Court as a condition of bail.

On 2 March 1977, his passport expired and on 9 June that year it was returned to him at his request. If it was his intention to go overseas, the passport would not have helped, because no airline would accept a passenger without a valid passport.

On a date that is uncertain (but nothing turns on this) he applied for a new passport.

It was important that he should get it and quickly so that with it he could travel to Australia and there show the Australian Government the expired passport stamped with the Authority to Return to Australia, and request them to stamp the new passport also with an Authority