Three Bangladeshi workers remanded by the police over an altercation last week claimed that their employers tried to coerce them into withdrawing complaints over unpaid wages.
This is according to PSM activist Bryan Rozells Gerard Rozells, who interviewed the workers following their release from remand yesterday.
He said the workers got into an argument with a co-worker, said to be loyal to their employers when the latter came to their hostel at about 1am on Thursday and started shouting at those who reported their employers to the authorities.
The altercation occurred at the Centralised Labour Quarters on Jalan Rahmat in Kuala Lumpur where the workers were residing.
This happened just a day after 55 Bangladeshi workers lodged reports with the Labour Department against two construction companies.
Bryan said the argument then turned physical before others broke it up. The hostel security then alerted their employers and police, who later turned up at the scene.
"The police officers left the scene after one of the workers explained what had happened and showed them the police reports they had lodged against the companies earlier.
"However, a representative of their employers, someone they called Encik Fikri, stayed on and started to threaten the three into withdrawing their police reports and the complaints they had lodged with the Labour Department.
"When the three refused to budge, Encik Fikri and the hostel security guard took them to the Dang Wangi police station where he again told them to withdraw their reports.
"When they still refused to do so, he then (allegedly) had his Bangladeshi staff involved in the altercation to lodge a police report alleging the three of assaulting him," Bryan told Malaysiakini.
The activist also lodged a police report last night detailing what the three workers had told him.
In his report made on behalf of PSM, Bryan said the party believed that a false accusation was made against the three that led to their arrests.
They were released from detention at about 2.30pm yesterday.
Locked out
However, their plight did not end with the release.
Bryan said the three workers found out that their handphones left at the Dang Wangi police station's guard house were taken away by their employers.
On top of this, they were also locked out of the workers' hostel and not allowed to enter even to collect their belongings inside.
"So now, the workers' handphones, personal effects and passports are all being held by their employers.
"PSM lodged the police report for their safety and hoping that police can help them to get back their personal items, including passports.
"We also want to know what action has been taken against the employers for holding the workers' passports, which is a criminal offence," Bryan said.
It was reported that three Bangladeshi workers came under investigation for criminal intimidation and were remanded for four days after lodging complaints over unpaid salaries.
Collin Arvin Andrew, who represented the workers at the remand hearing, told Malaysiakini two days ago that the workers were also being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for not having valid documents.
He contended that the allegation was peculiar, given that the employer, responsible for the workers’ documentation, escorted them to the police station.
On March 12 and 20, 55 Bangladeshi workers lodged police reports against Beaks Construction Sdn Bhd and Suria Harmoni Resources Sdn Bhd alleging criminal violation of their passports being withheld, not being deployed for work, and being unpaid for seven months.
Their labour cases lodged at the Kuala Lumpur Labour Department on March 18 and 20 alleged the same violations.
When contacted, Dang Wangi district police chief Noor Dellhan Yahaya confirmed that police had received the report.
He said the police opened an investigation under Section 323 of the Penal Code, which stipulates offences on voluntarily causing hurt.
"The police report is also forwarded to the Labour Department and Immigration Department.
"Let's wait for the investigation to be completed and further instruction from the deputy public prosecutor," he said. - Mkini
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