[1]This appeal was filed in respect of the High Court decision to dismiss an application for habeas corpus. The appellant is Noor Kayes Hashim Ullah @ Noor Kayes Binti Hasimullah (referred to as “the applicant”, as she was in the High Court proceedings) while the respondents are the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Malaysia, the Commander of the Tanah Merah Immigration Detention Depot in Kelantan Darul Naim and the Government of Malaysia (referred to collectively as “the respondents”) We heard and allowed the applicant’s appeal on 9 April 2025, making further orders necessary for the justice of the case. We now give our grounds for our decision.

Salient Facts

[2]The applicant is a female of Rohingya descent. She was arrested in Tumpat, Kelantan Darul Naim sometime in mid-2023. At the time her age was stated to be 16 years. At the material time, she did not possess a registered United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (“UNHCR”) card in Malaysia but held a UNHCR card issued in Bangladesh.

[3]The copy of the Bangladesh UNHCR card in the court records is blurred but the essential details that are discernible on the face of it are that the applicant’s purported date of birth is 1 Janua