THE couple had planned to get married this year.

Then came the bombshell that threatened to derail their future together: Mr Yunani Abdul Hamid, 33, was arrested and charged with drug trafficking in April last year.

It seemed that his past had caught up with him.

A few hours later, Mr Yunani, a lasher with the then-Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), surrendered to the authorities.

Four months later, he was released with a discharge not amounting to an acquittal, which meant that he could be re-charged if more evidence came up.

Mr Yunani had met receptionist Madam Rohani Tompang, now 37, in 2000 through mutual friends.

They started dating seriously in 2004 and soon, Madam Rohani, a divorcee with two young daughters, was making plans with Mr Yunani to build a future together.

Madam Rohani said: 'About a year after we first met, Yunani told me he had this case that was being KIV (kept in view). But after so many years, it was out of my mind.'

Mr Yunani said that he never thought he would return to court as he thought the case had been settled.

After his release in 1992, he returned to his job as a lasher, married and had two sons.

He got divorced in 2004 and has custody of the older child, a 10-year-old boy.

Mr Yunani had asked Madam Rohani since 2006 when she would like to get married.

Last year, she decided that they would marry in 2008.

But on 10 Apr last year, Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers arrested Mr Yunani for his alleged drug-trafficking offence 15 years ago.

Madam Rohani, who was with him when he was arrested, said: 'I had thought that the matter was settled. So I was shocked when the CNB officers came knocking.

'I was so worried because Yunani had told me it was a serious case with a death penalty.'

While she had doubts about how long she would wait for him if he went to prison, she told The New Paper yesterday that she would have waited for him for as long it took.

On 26 Nov last year, Mr Yunani pleaded guilty to a reduced charge and was sentenced to nine years' jail and six strokes of the cane.

He appealed and, on 28 Mar, the High Court quashed his conviction and ordered a re-trial in the Subordinate Courts.

Yesterday, he was acquitted of the offence.

FEAR OF LOSING HIM

Madam Rohani said: 'We had been together for so long and I was afraid of losing him. I was also afraid that Yunani might end up with a longer jail term after the retrial.'

Mr Yunani said: 'I felt that I had no choice but to plead guilty to the reduced charge. But later, I thought to myself that I should appeal as I was not guilty.'

The re-trial began on 10 Apr, a year to the day since his arrest last year.

When The New Paper asked Madam Rohani earlier this month what she would do if Mr Yunani had lost his re-trial and had to serve jail time, she said: 'I told him, 'I can wait for you, but I can't promise you... if the sentence is too long, I can't predict what'll happen in future.'

'I need someone to look after me and the children too. It's tiring as a single parent.'

When asked how long a jail term she considered 'too long', she paused and said softly: 'Seven years... That's as long as I've known him.'

Yesterday, she felt like screaming for joy when she learnt that he was a free man.

Madam Rohani said: 'As I thought it over, I realised that we had been together for so long and I could never bear to leave him even after waiting for seven years. I was willing to wait for as long as it took.'

When asked if the wedding would go ahead now, Madam Rohani coyly smiled and said: 'If he will have me.'

Mr Yunani immediately said: 'Yes I will. I nearly lost everything - my flat, my job, my girl. I am so glad that all went well and I am free. I want to marry Rohani and settle down but I will need to save up first, settle the matter of my children and get a job.'

He said most of his savings had gone to his legal fees and he needed to save up for the wedding.

It has not been easy for the couple after his arrest last year.

Mr Yunani had bought a resale five-room flat in Bukit Panjang in his and his son's names at the end of 2006, which the couple and their three children moved into.

Madam Rohani said: 'We had planned to transfer the flat from his son's to my name after getting married. But after Yunani was remanded from April to November last year, he told me to return the flat to the HDB.'

Madam Rohani said she would not abandon Mr Yunani, and addedthat she got permission from HDB to defer the monthly payments for the flat till August.

She also often had to switch to working the night shift to free up her mornings to accompany Mr Yunani's mother, Madam Jamilah Sidek, 58, to visit him in remand.

Mr Yunani was transferred from Queenstown Remand Prison to Changi Prison Complex last December.

Madam Rohani said: 'When I worked the night shift from noon to 9pm, I could only pick my daughters up from my mother's place at about 10pm.

'We would get home by almost 11pm, my girls would be very tired and I'd have no time to go over their homework with them.'

NEVER COMPLAINED

Madam Rohani said her transport expenses increased to about $400 a month, but she never complained.

On Mr Yunani, she said: 'He was tip-top at doing household chores. He'd mop, wash the clothes, hang the curtains... the only thing he can't do is ironing.

'Sometimes, after working 12 hours, I would come home tired and he would have cooked a simple dinner for me.'

Madam Rohani's daughters, aged 10 and 8, also missed him.

She said: 'My younger girl thinks of Yunani as her father. He has known her since she was two months old.'

Mr Yunani said his former boss had said that he could return to his old job but the decision was up to the company.

He said: 'For now, I will just enjoy sleeping on a soft bed instead of the hard floor. Then I will look for a job.'

This story was first published in The New Paper on 24 April 2008.