26 Vietnamese women, five locals nabbed

IPOH: The Immigration Department detained 26 Vietnamese women and five locals during the two-hour operation under Ops Mega 3.0 carried out at four locations around Setiawan and Manjung earlier yesterday.

State Immigration Department director Kamalludin Ismail said the operations, which began at midnight, involving 29 personnel including Immigration officers from Perak and Putrajaya, saw 11 Vietnamese women were detained at a karaoke centre located in the oil palm plantation in Kampung Cina, Setiawan.

Also arrested were two local men who were employed at the two-storey premise that had 15 karaoke rooms, he said.

The two men were detained under Section 56 (1) (d) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 while all women were detained for overstaying in Malaysia, misuse of passes and having no valid documents,” he said.

He was speaking to reporters at a press conference at the Perak Immigration Department here yesterday.

Kamalludin said he also believed that apart from karaoke activities, the centre had also offered sex services after finding condoms at the premises.

He added that in different raids, two local men and a woman, together with other 15 Vietnamese women were detained at a pub in Setiawan and two spas, one in Setiawan and another in Manjung, respectively.

They were arrested for various offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63 including entering the country without valid documents and overstaying, he said, adding that all arrested aged between 15 to 42.