KOTA KINABALU – A total of 182 Indonesian nationals have been repatriated back to their home country today as part of the Sabah Immigration Department’s illegal immigrant repatriation exercise.
Sabah Immigration Director Datuk Sitti Saleha Habib Yusof said the migrants at the Tawau Immigration Depot were sent home in two vessels from Tawau to Tunon Taka Terminal in Nunukan, Indonesia yesterday.
They comprise 145 men, 31 women, and six children aged 6 and below, she added.
“The adults are aged between 57 and 13. The children are sent home accompanied by their parents. They were escorted by officers onboard the Nunukan Express and Malindo Express,” she said in a statement here today.
According to her, all of them had been detained for various offences under the Immigration Act 1957 and the Immigration Regulations 1963.
She advised all foreigners to obtain all the proper papers if they wish to come to Sabah, adding that the authorities will not hesitate to take action against those who flout Malaysia’s immigration laws.
She also noted that the repatriation would not have been successful without the assistance of the Indonesian Consul Office. – The Vibes, April 12, 2023
