Malaysian immigration was a breeze. Leaving a country always seems easier than getting in. We arrived at Singapore immigration, at the Tuas checkpoint, at around 1 p.m. There was a mountain of luggage, since we had planned to explore one or two business propositions in Singapore. Once Charly and I had shoved everything through the x-ray machine I realised that he was held up, as one of the officials was checking through one of his CD pouches. "What seems to be the problem?" I asked as I walked over to him.

They just want to see the CDs that we have," Charly looked at me. The official asked what they were and we candidly told them, pointing out the gay VCDs, the animated and the music ones. At this point they were only searching the smaller pouch and had not even see my large one.

But these are illegal in Singapore," one of the officials said, pointing at the gay ones.

I guess that means you’ll have to confiscate them then?" I asked evenly. Although I had forgotten that we had even taken them along.

No, you can’t take them into Singapore," came the reply.

Well, you have to take them then I guess." I walked to our bags which the officer had pushed somewhat towards a door The bus had been waiting for us to board.

Charly called me I back. "They want me to go to the office with them."

What’s the problem?" I enquired.

These discs are illegal. You cannot take them into Singapore, I’m afraid your friend will have to come with us."

Well, okay," I nodded, "I’ll wait for him."

Well Sir, this could take a while," one of the officials said. "We will have to take him to Jurong Police Station for processing, and you can call him there later."

I was puzzled. "But why? What for? If we can’t take these CDs into Singapore, then you can just confiscate them."

Well, it’s not that simple I am afraid." The officer looked at me.

But these CDs belong to both of us," I informed the official. I was not going to let Charly see this through alone. "So why are you just taking him?"

Whom do these CDs belong to?" Another official asked.

Both of us," I replied.

Which belong to you and which ones belong to him ?" Another official asked. By then more officials had joined the fray, and we were attracting some attention.

Some belong to me, and some belong to my friend," Charly volunteered.

I see." One of the older officers needed to think for a moment.

You better tell the bus to go then," he motioned at me.

I walked to the bus and told them they should leave.

We were both brought to the office. One of the officers asked if they could search all the luggage, and that it would be in my and Charly’s best interest to give them our full cooperation. We had no problem with that, as I could detect no incongruities. It was then explained to us that trying to bring in these VCDs constituted a criminal offence in Singapore. We didn’t make much of it, and reckoned we’d be on our way as soon as everything had checked out.

The ensuing counting and categorisation of CDs took ages! "I don't think they know what they're doing," Charly commented to me at once stage. The whole CD collection was counted at least 7 or 8 times, and still no-one could agree as to what should go where and what should or should not be seized.

The wait was incredibly long. No one informed us what was going on, what would be happening next, or why certain things had to be done.

"So where do we go from here? I mean what's happening next?" I eventually asked.

"We are waiting for the police officers from Jurong Police Station to come and collect you guys. You and your luggage will be taken there for a complete investigation.

More investigation, I thought. Hadn't they had everything they needed?

It was close to 7 p.m. when the police finally arrived. Charly and I had our right wrists cuffed to each other and were put in the back of the police car, to be driven to the police station.

On our arrival we were placed in a small holding room, each individually cuffed to a stainless steel pole that had been fixed to the floor.

"This is totally ridiculous," Charly looked at me. "I don't believe this is happening.

"For a couple of VCDs. This could only happen in Singapore." He was shaking his head with a wry smile. Charly pointed into one corner of the ceiling where a camera was peering down at us.

There were three other guys in the room , a Chinese guy to my left, dressed in black sitting on the floor. He was a bill collector and had been caught beating up someone who hadn't paid his bills. Another guy to Charly's right was drunk and had been in a brawl. He was slovenly dressed, and was shouting obscenities at the officials in Hokkien. The third guy was being held because his visa had expired.

And so there was the endless waiting again with no one telling us what was happening, and what they were doing.

"I'm sorry about this," Charly looked at me.

"Don't be silly," I managed a slight smile. "There's nothing to be sorry about."

"I just feel had it not been for my pouch they might not have even stopped or detained us."

"That has nothing to do with it. This was supposed to happen." I believed that everything happened for a reason, and whatever the reason had been, there had to be one, no matter how harebrained it seemed.

So we waited some more. One of the other guys was taken from the room, and then it was locked again.

Eventually an official came in and made for me, "We are together," I said pointing at Charly.

The officer uncuffed Charly and led him from the room.

Suddenly I felt lost, with a cavity so deep and dark, no light at the end of the tunnel, just the darkness of an expanding uncertainty before me. I dared not even think what was happening.

Time passed slowly. Eventually the door opened again, and I was led to a small room.

"Ok, please take off all your jewellery including your specs." The officer was Chinese, not bad looking and friendly, professional, doing his job meticulously. One thing could be counted on in Singapore, the police would do everything by the book, leaving nothing to chance. I removed my watch and jewellery and placed everything neatly on the table.

"Please take your clothes off." The officer instructed. I did, and stood there in my underpants. "Your underpants as well." I frowned for a moment and then did so. "Please crouch down." I did and the officer took a slow walk around me and looked underneath me. "Ok, you can put on your pants and shirt, leave your underpants off."

"No underpants?" I was astonished. "Why not?"

"We've had some cases where detainees have tried to commit suicide with their underpants, trying to strangle themselves or others."

Jewellery and other possessions were put into a plastic bag and sealed, while all the luggage was put away in a locker. I was handcuffed and led down a passage, eventually reaching our cells: clean, neat and tidy little rooms, next to each other, with windows to the front. I searched for a familiar face passing the cells. Charly was standing in the window. I will never forget the expression of utter despair in his face! Although not physically hurt, there was pain and suffering in his gaze.

"Can I go in there with my friend?" I ventured. The officer motioned for one of the guys to get the keys to Charly's cell, but they would not let me join him. I mouthed the words, "I love you", and Charly returned the phrase, and there and then we were separated in different cells.

A million voices cried out in disbelief! There were other guys in there with me. There were no windows between the cells, so I could not see how or what Charly was doing. We were separated, and not that it was the first time we had been separated, but never in this way. I hated to be separated from Charly. Whether it was when Charly had to go to work during the day, or on a business trip. But those were all natural instances. This was different. Worse than twisted. No one should have to experience this. Gloom set in. Everything was crumbling. Collapsing. Falling apart. I had visions of a break-up. Charly hating me for getting him into this mess. I could not bear the thought of Charly having to go through this. There was nothing on this Earth he could have done to deserve this. I wished I could get him out of there right there and then and take the brunt of it all on my own - alone. How could I suddenly make all this go away? Protect my boyfriend?

Right outside the cell on the opposite wall had been a board where all the new accused brought to the cells were written up. It gave the name, age and time everyone brought in. It was also a way to gauge the time, since I didn’t have a watch. There were three other guys in the cell with me. A 40-year-old Chinese guy, a 42-year-old Malay guy with dirty long hair and this tallish short haired Malay guy of 35. I dared not speak to anyone. I kept standing near the door, peering through the window; staring at the accused board.

And then………..waiting……….. Again, that endless wait! The mind was racing, playing scenes from before over and over again. How things could have been done differently. Nothing would have happened had we not inadvertently taken the cds. After all they had not been that important.

After some time they brought food and some tea, but my stomach was too churned up to eat anything, although I did have the tea. Not the nasi lemak, which I hate.

Even with the accused board, it was hard to tell the time. Most of the time they would fill in the board late. Still one could make out the time by way of a little deduction, and then maybe add a half-hour or so.

And then………more endless waiting……….. The mind was always racing, playing the scenes from before over and over again. As for what lay ahead, Charly and I were supposed to have an interrogation, where we could make a statement to an investigator.

It wasn't until around 2 a.m. when I and Charly were finally collected from our respective cells for a chance to have our say. The investigator turned out to be a nice, friendly, well-spoken Chinese man.

I’m going to ask you some questions, and I want you to tell me in your own words what exactly happened."

Ok," I agreed – naturally.

When did you arrive at Tuas checkpoint?"

I think it was around 1 p.m."

What did you do then?"

I started to tell the story in no uncertain terms exactly the way things had transpired that early afternoon, leaving nothing out.

"You know, actually this was such an invasion of privacy," I eventually ended off with.

"What do you mean?" The investigator didn't seem to understand.

"This was our private collection of CDs. It really had nothing to do with anyone."

"Yes, but some of your CDs were illegal in Singapore."

"And I accept that, but we neither intended to show them publicly nor sell them. If you care to check, there is one copy of each, just for our personal use and entertainment. So in effect they have nothing to do with anyone. We were coming to Singapore to visit some friends and explore some business opportunities."

"Still, it's a criminal offence to own those in Singapore."

"Well, we didn't know that then, and we most certainly know now. All the more reason not to prosecute us. How can you prosecute someone for something they did not know was wrong in the first place?"

"Don't worry, I will do my best for you tomorrow. I'll do some running around for you guys tomorrow. I will be working hard for you, trying to get you off with just a strong warning." The investigator was full of promises, trying to be reassuring. I could only hope that everything would transpire as promised. However, I had not seen Charly, and was worried about him.

It was almost 3 in the morning when I was brought back to my cell. Although I was tired, sleep did not come easily, but I managed to lay down on the hard concrete floor and shut my eyes. When I finally woke up, there was no way of knowing what the time had been. I could have slept an hour, it could have been 8 in the morning or even lunch time, I simply couldn't tell.

Soon after though, tea and some dry sweet bread was brought in, probably about 7 a.m. The tea was okay, the bread was…..there was no word for it.

And then………more waiting……….. There was that endless waiting again! Meanwhile. the other two cell mates must have finally made bail, as they had been taken from the cell, and hadn't returned. I was alone!

The waiting was excruciating. Absolutely nothing was happening. Alone, I started pacing the cell, thinking…..thinking…..planning in my mind what to say when they finally prosecuted us. I told myself to be positive and friendly in the event that I come before a judge in court and get my say. I tried to keep my mind active, talking to myself. I asked my spiritual guides to surround me with white light and positive thoughts. I began to exercise: push-ups, squats, arm exercises, neck-rolls…..

Endless waiting, pacing, neck-rolls, more push-ups. Then suddenly the cell door was unlocked. Charly and I were taken from the cells and led down a passage.

"This is my superior," the investigator said. "She is going to talk you now."

A Chinese lady opened a file, "Mitch Oldman, is that you?" She looked at me. "Charly Chang, that is you?" She looked over at my boyfriend. "I have discussed this case with the prosecutor and we have decided not to press charges."

"No shit, you have 'decided' not to press charges. You have no fucking case." But I only thought it.

"However we are herewith giving you a strong warning that this should never happen again," she continued. "Please remember the Singapore laws are very strict, and if this should happen again, we will prosecute you."

"Ok, fine, thank you very much." Instant relief washed over me, and I could see it in Charly's face too.

"Ok, we will take you back to your cells now while we process your release," the investigator said. "That'll take about 30 minutes to an hour and then we will come and get you."

Charly and I looked at one another relieved.

And then…….more waiting. Alone in the cell again, like common criminals. I paced the floor trying to think of a plausible reason as to why this had happened. What could have been the reasons behind these events of the past 24 hours? I paced the cell. It was a small cell. 6 by 2 meters wide, smaller than a bedroom. Uncomfortable. Unfriendly. Cold. Intimidating.