[Watch] How A Pencil Box Court Case Brought Two Strangers Together

Lawyer Ahmad Zaharil went above and beyond to ensure a desperate mother could go home to her young son many years ago.

For illustration purposes

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Lawyer Ahmad Zaharil Muhaiyar did not expect his kind deed in 1998 would pay back in the best way possible years later.

Ahmad, who is 57 years old now, shared on TikTok that he was working alone in the courtroom 25 years ago when he spotted a Malaysian-Indian woman in her 50s being led by the police in handcuffs.

Ahmad decided to approach the woman to find out what was up after seeing her in distress. It turned out she was caught stealing a pencil box meant as a gift for her 10-year-old son.

She promised her son, who was in Year 4, to get him a pencil box as a gift if he became a top student in his class, which he did.

Desperate to fulfil her promise, she attempted to steal the RM18 pencil case from the supermarket but was caught.

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Thinking about the boy’s wellbeing

Ahmad thought about the poor boy and wondered who would care for him if his mother was jailed.

After speaking to a court magistrate, he managed to postpone the woman’s case and set out to verify her claim by visiting the son’s school in Sentul.

The headmaster verified the claim that the boy was a top student in his class. The headmaster returned to the courtroom with Ahmad to meet with the owner of the supermarket.

Unfortunately, the supermarket owner was adamant that the case should proceed. This was despite Ahmad offering the owner double the price for the pencil box, The Star reported.

Ahmad managed to mitigate the woman’s case on her behalf. Fortunately, the magistrate discharged the mother on a one-year good behaviour bond.

Before letting her go, Ahmad started a donation round and collected a few hundred ringgit from the court staff, policemen, and himself.

He never saw the woman again after passing her the donation. She left after expressing her gratitude.

An unexpected reunion

Fast forward to 2018, Ahmad had a pleasant surprise one day at work. He first noticed a young lawyer who kept looking at him. The next day, the man in his early 30s finally approached Ahmad to introduce himself.

Hello, sir. You may not know me, but I am the son of the cleaner you helped 20 years ago. Remember the pencil box case? My mother saw you in the news on TV over a case you had handled and told me who you are. I searched for you and am so glad to meet you. I am a practising lawyer now, sir.
The boy, who’s now a lawyer himself.

Ahmad could not keep his tears back and hugged the young man, who grew up to become a lawyer himself.

Ahmad said they proceeded to visit the boy’s mother, who is now 76 years old. He said they have become close like a family and would visit each other on festive days like Deepavali and Hari Raya.

Ahmad said he helped the woman that day many years ago because she is a fellow Malaysian.

Despite our diverse backgrounds, Ahmad believes our differences are minute and yet we have similarities. He believed all of us can live in harmony as one big family.

Ahmad’s story inspired and touched many netizens online. They praised Ahmad for helping without expecting anything in return.

The story also serves as a good reminder to everyone to promote kindness instead of hatred, as exemplified by Ahmad.

People love the touching story so much that they think it should be made into a film as they believe it’ll be a box office hit.