JUDGMENT

Abdul Malik Ishak J:

The applicant, an Indonesian holding a Malaysian permanent resident status, was arrested on 21 June 1998 and on July 1998 he was charged in the magistrate's court in Johor Bahru on four charges under the Immigration Act 1959 (Revised 1997). While the applicant was being tried for those four charges and the trial was on going he was remanded and he was handed to the office in charge of the prison at Jalan Air Molek, Johor Bahru under a warrant of remand that was signed by the magistrate of Johor Bahru. The warrant of remand was extended by the magistrate of Johor Bahru from time to time and the date of remand extended till 24 December 1998. The details of the warrant of remand were amply deposed to by Mr. Mohd Khairy bin Hj Said, the prisons director of Jalan Air Molek, Johor Bahru. That warrant of remand had not been set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction. To all intents and purposes the remand of the applicant was valid in law and in accordance to the law. Everything was done above board. Despite this, the applicant applied for a writ of habeas corpus. When the magistrate of Johor Bahru ordered the remand of the applicant it was in the nature