309 immigrants nabbed at ‘dirty’ settlement, says immigration DG

 

Some of the foreign workers detained at a construction site in Dengkil early this morning. (Bernama pic)

DENGKIL: The Immigration Department arrested 309 illegal immigrants out of 715 individuals inspected during an integrated operation carried out at a settlement near a construction site in Dengkil, early this morning.

Those detained comprised 280 men and 29 women, aged between 20 and 50, of various nationalities – Indonesians (193), Bangladeshis (102), Vietnamese (four), Indians (two) and Myanmar nationals (eight).

Immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud said members of the public had tipped off his office claiming that there were individuals at the settlement who had violated SOPs under the movement control order (MCO).

He said, as a result, the department raided the area and found that they did not comply with the SOPs as prescribed.

“I arrived with the operations team and found that their settlement was densely populated, dirty and did not have a proper drainage system, but had a place for residents to gather and eat in large numbers.

“They also admitted that there were about four to seven people living in one room,” he told reporters at the scene.

Khairul Dzaimee said this showed that they were free to do anything at the construction site without complying with SOPs.

He said this was why the home ministry had directed the department to help reduce the high number of Covid-19 positive cases at workplaces involving immigrants.

He also explained how Indonesian women sneaked into the country, by having their husbands enter Malaysia to work first and then they would follow their spouses using social visit passes.

“Indonesian women enter Malaysia using a social visit pass and continue to reside in the country beyond the stipulated time. In addition, they live with their husbands who work illegally in the country,” he said.

He said those detained today will undergo Covid-19 screening to be carried out by the Putrajaya and Seremban district health offices,” he said.

Khairul Dzaimee said they will then be detained at the Semenyih immigration depot and investigated under Sections 6 (1) (c) and Section 15 (1) (c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 before deportation.

During the operation, the team also inspected 10 Rohingya refugees who said they had United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards.

“Out of 10, two were arrested for possessing fake cards while the others were released,” he said.

The integrated operation from 12.30am to 2.30am also involved 189 personnel from various enforcement agencies, including the General Operations Force, the National Registration Department, the Labour Department and the Civil Defence Force. - FMT