On Monday, the fourth, I went with Victor and Ling to the magistrate court to watch the proceedings for 23 Chin who were arrested in the raid two months ago. The court is a sprawling marvel of Moorish (as the internet tells me) architecture, with golden domed minarets and spiraling stairwells. The whitewashed hallways are dappled with ornately patterned sunlight streaming through the iron latticework in the dome shaped windows.

The hallways are lined with courtrooms, each with heavy hardwood double doors. There appeared to be hundreds of rooms on several floors in the building. We didn't yet know which room the 23 would be brought to, so we ended up wandering up and down the hallway, someone occasionally popping their head into an open door. We finally met up with the lawyer who was sent by the UNHCR to represent them. She informed Victor that she also had another trial that morning, for three Chin minors, 16 and 17 years old, who had been in detention for almost 6 months already. The CRC typically refers cases to the UNHCR when an adult or minor is arrested, but no one was aware that these three had been arrested. We made our way upstairs to the room they would be in, and they discussed their case while I sat on the bench opposite the courtroom doors, waiting for air-conditioned breezes when the door was opened. Two of them had family here, so they wished to plead guilty and wait for deportation so they could return, but the third had no family, and wanted to plead not guilty. I suspect they'd likely be deported eventually anyway.

We made our way back down to room where the other case would be. When we went in, there were already four Chinese women seated, waiting to hear their own charges. The benches for observers were in the back, raised up so we could look down on the defendants. We had to squish in, as there were several other friends of the men who'd come to watch and show support. There was a wrought iron door to one side where the defendants were brought in from lockup. They came out to take their seats, handcuffed in pairs to a long chain connecting 8 people. They smiled and waved as they recognized familiar faces among the visitors. It was a bit of a shock when I saw two familiar faces walk by - they had told me that two of the teachers and one the CRC volunteers had been arrested, but I didn't realize who they were until I saw them.

The court called out each of their names and had them stand in turn. They then read the charges in Malay. They had all agreed to plead guilty. They were then told in Malay, which was translated to Chin, that they would have to appear again the next day for sentencing. So it was a bit of a let down, as everyone would have to wait again for the outcome. Another man there who was Muslim, from where I don't know, was also charged and sentenced. It seemed apparent that he didn't understand what was being said to him. The four Chinese women were charged with working on a tourist visa, but were sentenced to two months time served, so would only be deported. Another Bangladeshi student there was charged with working on a student visa, but was also given a light sentence of a fine and three weeks in prison. The maximum penalty for their offenses could have been 10 years.

After the court and a trip to the bank, where they had ads for "Sharia Compliant Home Financing", we headed to the Burmese shop. The shop had a couple floors, the first with Burmese products like pickled tea and Burmese music tapes, as well as clothes and textiles imported from Burma. We went to the restaurant for lunch. We had Laphet Thoke, the pickled green tea leaves mixed with oily fried nuts and seeds and tomato. The TVs played karaoke videos of 80's rock ballads in Burmese. We ordered cans of Myanmar Beer, which none of us had had before, but thought we should try. The Beer Asia blog had given it high marks. It was the least offensive beer I've ever had, and I enjoyed it. Victor and Ling complained it had no flavor - I have to agree, but I dislike the taste of lager, so this is a plus in my book. Victor tells me the owner of the restaurant has actually been arrested for operating without proper permits, but the business still seemed to be running as usual. The owner's wife is apparently the daughter of a Brigadier-General in Burma.

When we returned to the CRC I found it unusually quiet, I remembered that half of them had gone to Sunway Lagoon, a disney-esque water park, as a going away party before the Secretary left for Australia. The other half of the office soon locked up to leave for lunch, and I actually found myself completely alone. My efforts to take a nap, though, were still thwarted by visitors, and the neighbors bouncing what seemed to be sheets of fencing down the stairs. I eventually got to sleep, after the place had filled up again and was noisy with conversation.