Singer Maggie Lindemann alleges she was 'confined in a living hell' for 5 days after mid-concert arrest in Kuala Lumpur
Maggie Lindemann, who was arrested halfway through her concert in Kuala Lumpur in the month of June, said she spent the next five days after the incident "confined in a living hell".
The 20-year-old Lindemann was performing at The Bee Venue in Kuala Lumpur on June 21, when she was arrested by immigration officials following a tip-off that she did not have the requisite artiste's permit for the concert, according to the Daily Mail.
The singer made her return to social media following a two-week hiatus to detail the arrest and to apologize to fans at the concert, as well as to those who bought tickets to see her in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the next day, and in Singapore on June 26 — both of which she missed because of her detainment.
"I want to start off with by saying I'm sorry to the fans that came out to the Malaysia show on the 21st," she wrote. "For reasons I can't go into right now, I was detained and arrested mid-way through my set and spent the next five days confined in a living hell."
"I'm also so sorry to the fans in Asia that paid for tickets to come see me," she continued. "I was so excited to see and meet all of you but unfortunately I was unable to finish the tour. I have been advised not to say more at this time, but thank you for the kind words and concern. I love you and I hope to be back soon."
However, Immigration Department director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud termed Lindemann's claims that she had been held for five days as "false and incorrect". He said she was arrested at around 9.30 pm on June 21 and released at around 7 pm the next day. He also said two other US citizens and two Malaysians were arrested in the same swoop and released the next day, information that the 20-year-old left out from her post.
Kuala Lumpur immigration chief Hamidi Adam said the organizer was warned that Lindemann did not have a professional visit pass, but that they did not listen and proceeded with the show. Hamidi said the organizer had even been charged in court, pleaded guilty, and had paid a $9,800 fine.
But The Bee management shifted the blame to a visa permit agent who they said had falsely informed them that Lindemann was cleared to play in the country. "We understand that the incident occurred due to the wrongful actions of the visa permit agent, who has also misinformed the organizers that the show was approved by the relevant authorities, and permitted to go on," they said in a statement.
"The agent was subsequently charged, found guilty for his negligence and had to pay a fine for his actions." They stressed that they were "not responsible for the arrest" and that they do not condone "any foreign acts to proceed to perform when there are such irregularities," adding that they were "deeply sorry that this unfortunate incident happened to Maggie and we hope to welcome her to The Bee again."