KOTA KINABALU – A 7-month-old baby was among 32 people detained by the Kota Kinabalu Immigration Department’s Enforcement Unit after two squatter settlements in Tg Dumpil, Putatan, were raided on Wednesday night.
Sabah Immigration Department director Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof in a statement today said the detainees include 14 men, 11 women, and seven children (six boys and one girl), aged from 7 months to 57 years old.
The huge operation, codenamed Ops Patuh, saw 54 immigration officers and 19 marine police officers involved.
It was conducted from about 10.55pm and was led by the senior director’s deputy assistant Hasanal Ag Hashim from the Enforcement Unit, and Roslan Awang from the Kota Kinabalu Marine Police team.
“A total of 124 people were inspected and out of the total, 32 were detained under Section 6(1)(c) of Immigration Act 1959/1963 for the offense of entering and residing in Malaysia without a valid passport,” Sitti said, adding that the operation lasted until about 3am yesterday.
She noted that each detainee had undergone strict Covid-19 screening before they were sent to the immigration depot.
Sitti said that the successful arrest was a result of public information provided to the Sabah Immigration Department.
She gave a stern warning to premises owners not to rent out premises to illegal immigrants.
“I ask for all Sabahans not to protect illegal immigrants. The Immigration Department will not compromise with any party that conspires or provides shelter to any illegal immigrant on their premises.
“I ask for the cooperation from Sabahans to report any illegal immigrants’ activities in their areas immediately,” she added. –The Vibes, January 21, 2022
