Illegal immigrant crackdown continues at popular mall

© Provided by Malay Mail Online Foreign workers without documentation rounded up in the food court. — Picture by Hari Anggara© Provided by Malay Mail OnlineKUALA LUMPUR, July 5 — The Immigration Department rounded up 75 undocumented foreigners during a lunch hour crackdown at a food court in Mid Valley Megamall yesterday.

Twenty-nine immigration personnel, led by Kuala Lumpur operations head Mohd Sharulnizam Ismail, raided the “Makan Place” food court at 11am and inspected 120 foreign workers within an hour.

Located on the lower ground level, the food court has some 30 vendors.

Those detained were required to fill up a form to inform their employers of their arrest.

Women workers in handcuffs were seen in tears as they waited to be loaded into a truck that took them to be processed further at the department’s office in Sri Hartamas.

In total, 50 female and 25 male foreign workers were picked up.

Indonesians made up the majority with 52 nabbed, followed by Bangladeshis (15), Myanmar nationals (five), China nationals (two) and a Thai.

They were detained for failure to present documentation, overstaying their visas and misusing their travel permits.

The raids were launched following the end of the E-card application period on June 30.

Mohd Shahrulnizam said: “We are committed to conducting more operations from time to time to curb the surge of illegal immigrants here,” he said.