Australian metalcore band I Killed The Prom Queen was released from the Malaysian Immigration Department headquarters lockup in under 48 hours after they were arrested on Saturday (14th November).
According to The Malay Mail Online, citing an Immigration Department source, the band performed without a valid professional visit pass, even though the organisers were instructed by the department to obtain one.
An Immigration Department source said :
We received complaints from the Central Agency for Application of Filming and Performance by Foreign Artiste (Puspal) under the Communications and Multimedia Ministry, so we informed the organisers to apply for the necessary permit required by the ministry but they did not comply.
He added that the Australian metalcore band boarded a plane ticket for Australia last night.
For those who are not in the know, I Killed The Prom Queen is a 5-member metalcore band from Adelaide, Australia.
Formed in 2000, the band was featured prominently on the Australian live music scene and toured the US, Japan and parts of Europe several times. However, following vocalist Ed Butcher’s departure from the band, I Killed The Prom Queen broke up due to their inability to find a new vocalist. In May 2011, the Adelaide-based band reformed for the “Destroy Music Tour” with new vocalist Jamie Hope and spent the next 2 years working on a 3rd studio album, which was released in early 2014.
Yesterday, band guitarist Jona Weinhofen posted a tweet saying “freedom” on his Twitter account. This was followed by another tweet: “Sorry Malaysia but after this horrible experience I don’t think we will return in a hurry”.
Weinhofen mentioned that the members were not treated well while they were being detained even after being told that it’s their promoter’s fault.
Nevertheless, the band did receive an apology from the immigration department’s general director, Mustafa Ibrahim.
Sources: Malay Mail Online, stuff.co.nz
