Man facing deportation fears for his life after the Home Office claim he is ‘lying’ about his sexuality
Yew Fook Sam fled Malaysia back in 1988 after his wife found out he was gay
By Steve Brown
A man is fearing his life after facing deportation after the Home Office claims he is lying about his sexuality.
Yew Fook Sam – who is best known as Sam – left his wife and family in 1988 after she found out he was gay and he fled Malaysia and went to the US but in 2005, he came to the UK on a visit visa but remained and started working.
Back in 2016, he was arrested for working illegally and was held in an immigration centre before the Home Office gave him accommodation in Kirkby, in Merseyside, where he has been an active member of the LGBTQ+ community, the Liverpool Echo reported.
His case has been through a first-tier and upper tribunal and he has exhausted all of his appeals.
However, papers from the second case stated that the original judge “provided detailed and cogent reasons for finding that the appellant’s account of his sexuality was not a genuine and credible one, identifying numerous inconsistencies and discrepancies in his account.”
The Home Office continual say he is lying about his sexuality as he does not have a male partner but the 67 year old reveals he doesn’t ‘need sex’.
He said: “I was so disappointed and depressed, after being told that I was not gay. How can I prove it?
“I tried to tell the Home Office, ‘I am 67. I don’t need sex’. But I am part of so many gay associations and have attended and worked as a steward at Pride festivals in Liverpool – and I want to be able to die openly as a gay man, not go back to Malaysia and keep it a secret.
“I have been photographed on marches here and I would be in danger of being arrested – and attacked by members of the public. I fear I could get killed if I had to go back.”
A petition has been signed by more than 900 people urging the Home Office not to deport Sam over fears on his life.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “This government has a proud record of providing protection for asylum seekers fleeing persecution be-cause of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and the UK remains a world leader in its approach to handling this type of asylum claim.
“We do not routinely comment on individual cases.”