Malaysia cops round up 55 Bangladeshis

Malaysian immigration police detained 338 foreigners, including 55 Bangladeshis, while raiding a factory in Cyberjaya, said Mustafar Ali, director general of Malaysian Immigration Department.

He said 36 men and 172 women from Indonesia, 25 men, and three women from Myanmar, and 47 Nepalese men were among the detainees of the operation dubbed Ops Mega 3.0.

"We checked 2,230 people at the location and detained 338 foreigners.

"Most of them were detained for using temporary foreign worker permit (PLKS) belonging to different companies," Mustafar said.

Initial investigations revealed that a few companies supplied foreign workers who were registered to one company but ended up working for another, he added.

"The employer and company owner had openly flouted immigration rules and regulations pertaining to the hiring of foreign workers.

"The employer took the easy route despite knowing that those with PLKS must work at the address or location stated in their permits," he said.

The workers could be detained and their permits revoked if they were discovered to have worked at a place not stated in their permits, Mustafar said.

"Other offences discovered during the raid were overstaying, not having personal documents and infringing on regulations for their permits.

"Those detained have been placed at the Bukit Jalil Immigration depot," he said.

The raid was possible due to information obtained from members of the public, he added.

Copyright: The Star Online/ Asia News Network