11,500 Illegal Foreign Workers And 272 Employers Have Been Detained Since Jun 30 2017
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11,500 illegal foreign workers and 272 employers have been detained nationwide as part of a continuous operation conducted since the end of the E-card programme deadline on June 30. Firmer punishment, including whipping, awaits Malaysian employers who hire or give refuge to illegal foreign workers.
Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said he recently met with Chief Justice Tun Md Raus Sharif to discuss the punishments to be meted out to employers who commit immigration offences.
“I have discussed (the judicial issues) with the Chief Justice, and he expressed his readiness (to mete out) the punishments, including whipping, to employers who are still stubborn,” he said.
Mustafar revealed this after leading a team of 39 officers and Department members on an operation to detain illegal foreigners at two construction sites here and in Kamunting. The operation began last night and ended early this morning.
Mustafar added that his Department will also punish employers who protect illegal foreign workers by freezing company assets.
As of 11.30pm last night, he said 11,500 illegal foreign workers and 272 employers have been detained nationwide as part of a continuous operation conducted since the end of the E-card programme deadline on June 30.
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Last night’s operation started at 10.30pm and saw 139 foreign workers checked and 45 detained for not having valid travel documents and misusing their employee passes.
“In this operation, 39 men, six women and two children, aged 1 month and 3, were detained and brought to the Ipoh Immigration Department for documentation, before being taken to the Langkap Immigration Depot for further investigation,” he said.
Mustafar also requested the cooperation of employers and local authorities on monitoring the construction of “rumah kongsi” in Taiping, which are deemed unsafe for habitation.
“On our side, there is no compromise with illegal foreign workers and we will continue conducting operations. But in terms of the safety of (legal) foreign workers, local authorities are looking into the aspects of their residential locations.
“For example, at ongoing construction sites, developers must prepare “rumah kongsi” (that meet minimum safety requirements),” he said.
Foreign workers News source: NST
Its Director-General Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali (pic) said that there is a provision under Section 56(1) of the Immigration Act to freeze assets and bank accounts of employers, however, it has not been fully enforced.