KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested a Customs Department officer over allegations of human trafficking.
This followed a report lodged at the Kajang police headquarters claiming that his Indonesian domestic worker was exploited and was brought into the country illegally.
The son of the 50-year-old woman had lodged a report at the Indonesian embassy in Malaysia, which then forwarded the case to police.
Federal Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrant (Atipsom) policemen, aided by Kajang Criminal Investigation Department policemen, then swooped in to detain the man, with police recommending that he be charged under Section 12 of the Atipsom Act 2007.
Sources said the 46-year-old Customs officer, who is based at the department's headquarters in Putrajaya, was nabbed at his home in Taman Tropika 2, Kajang, at 1pm on Oct 6.
They said the woman was rescued from the residence and is now in a safe house.
"The victim's son, who is in East Jawa, lodged a report with the Indonesian embassy here claiming that his mother had not been paid by her employers.
"According to the victim, she had been working with the suspect for three years and was supposed to be paid RM1,000 a month. However, she has never been paid in cash but it was claimed that her salary was sent to her family in Jawa.
"She also told police she the suspect would often get mad at her for no reason. The victim said she had been working with another employer when she entered Malaysia in 2018, before being taken in by the suspect."
The sources said the suspect told police that he had employed the victim from a Malaysian agent named "Datin Liza" and she was working with him without a valid permit.
"The victim has her own handphone but this was kept by the suspect's wife, who would not allow her to use it," said one source.
Federal police CID director Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain confirmed the case when contacted.
Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia Hermono also confirmed to the New Straits Times that the embassy had received a report before referring it to Kajang police.
He also confirmed that that the victim has been rescued and the employer was under police investigation.
"Not yet," he responded when asked if police have provided updates on the case.