25 illegals held at 19 famous resort islands in Semporna
Published on: Wednesday, April 09, 2014
Published on: Wed, Apr 09, 2014 Text Size: Semporna: Twenty-five illegal immigrants, including women and children, were nabbed during "Ops Gasak 4" at 19 famous resort islands here, Monday night. The one-day operation, with the cooperation of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), National Registration Department, Immigration Department, District Office and police was coordinated by the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom).Esscom Director-General Datuk Mohammad Mentek Esscom said the operation would be continued at other resort islands and water villages. Those detained during the raids at Mabul, Kapalai, Pom-Pom and Mataking, including resort workers, aged between six and 52 years, would be referred to the immigration for further questioning."All of them are investigated under Immigration Act 1959/63 (Amended 2002). The resort operators will also be called in and if found employing illegal immigrants, they will have to face the music," he said.He said the operation was a follow-up to Ops Gasak 1 to Ops Gasak 3 that was launched on Nov 24, involving several islands and water villages.Meanwhile, 15 illegal immigrants who worked at a resort have been arrested and are being investigated in connection with the abduction incident.Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said his Ministry was currently embarking on working closely with Esscom and the authorities in the Philippines in efforts to free the two abducted victims.However, he declined to disclose details on the location and name of the resort that the 15 detained illegal immigrants worked. "As such, I advise resort operators and employers not to employ foreigners or individuals, who do not possess any valid personal identification documents as all sorts of problems will arise later. "The Ministry suspected these 15 illegal immigrants are informants to the group of abductors but all of them are being questioned to see if they are involved in the incident," he said.Also present was Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin. In the 10.30pm incident last Wednesday, a group of seven armed men intruded into the Singamata Adventures Reef and Resort and abducted two foreign women, Gao Hua Yuan, 29, from Shanghai and resort worker Filipina Marcy Dayawan, 40.Zahid said the Esscom administration, together with the armed forces and police, played a vital role in ensuring the east coast of Sabah was free from any criminal activities but it would be difficult for the authorities to take action if the resort operators and employers protected those workers without any valid documents.He said the Ministry would take firm action against those employers found to have hired illegal immigrants under the Immigration Act 1959/63.Employers could also be prosecuted under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (Amended 2010), he said.
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