PETALING JAYA: Nine Myanmar factory workers alleged to have been wrongfully detained by the Immigration Department last month were found possessing expired working permits.
Immigration Department director-general Datuk Alias Ahmad said the nine detained in Section 6, Kota Damansara on Oct 4 overstayed in the country since July 22. Their employer did not renew their work permits.
"The workers are expected to be charged in court on Nov 14 for unlawful entry or presence in the country," he said.
The nine are being held at the Sungai Buloh Immigration detention centre.
Asked if enforcement action will be taken against their employer, Alias said the department was trying to identify them.
He said as the workers were detained at their residence, the department would have to check for details of the employer and the outsourcing company that recruited them.
"We can take action against the employer and the outsourcing company if they committed an offence," he said.
Alias said if the employer committed an offence, the department could propose to the Home Ministry to terminate the licence or postpone the license renewal of the outsourcing company.
On Monday, Burma Campaign Malaysia claimed the workers' passports were held by their employer and the outsourcing company cheated the workers by failing to prepare their working permits and visa documents since their arrival in June.
The NGO's director,Tun Tun, said the workers paid US850 (RM2,604) each to come to Malaysia to work and they were made to believe their documents would be ready on their arrival.
He claimed the outsourcing company shortchanged the workers as their documents were still not prepared when they arrived and had later evaded the NGO group when they tried to ask about the status of the documents.
Source : TheMalayMail
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