SUNGAI PETANI: Thirteen immigrant women were detained by the state Immigration Department in separate raids here early this morning.
Eight were from Thailand, three were Vietnamese, one from Myanmar and another from Laos.
Initial investigations revealed that all of them were working at two entertainment centres without permits.
The department's enforcement division chief Mohd Shahrir Khalil said the team also nabbed two local men, both 24, for harbouring the women.
He said, acting on public complaints, a team led by deputy enforcement officer Wan Fatonatunnor Abdul Rahim and 16 personnel went to the two premises located at Taman Tunku Haminah here at about 12.35am.
“The premises had been raided before. When the team raided it early this morning, the patrons and workers tried to escape but we had surrounded the premises,” he said in a statement today.
He added a total of 15 women working at the premises were inspected; 12 were found to have misused their social visit passes, which is a violation of Article 39(b) of the Immigration Regulation 1963
He said one of the women inspected did not have any valid traveling documents, which is an offence under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Amendment 2002).
Shahrir said the two men were detained under Section 56(1)(d) of the same Act for harboring the women.
“We view this case seriously since the women were illegally hired to work here,” he said adding that all of them were detained at the Kedah Immigration Department lock-up in Anak Bukit for further investigation.