The Penang Immigration Department detained 114 foreigners, 10 of them men, during raids on two entertainment centres in Bukit Mertajam for suspected immigration offences, NST reported, citing the department’s Facebook post.
Officers detained 64 people at a premises in Jalan Keranji, Taman Mutiara, and another 50 at a second premises in Jalan Kulim, Taman Machang Bubok.
“In the raid at the first entertainment centre in Jalan Keranji, those detained comprised 44 Thai women, 14 Laotian women, two Laotian transgender women, two Myanmar men, and one man each from Bangladesh and Nepal,” the department said.
“At the premises in Jalan Kulim, 29 Thai women, 14 Laotian women, one Vietnamese woman and six Myanmar men were detained.”
Counted together, the two lists make 73 Thai women, 30 Laotian women, eight Myanmar men, one Vietnamese woman, one Bangladeshi man and one Nepali man. That leaves 104 women, two of them transgender women, and 10 men.
The Penang office ran the operation with the department’s headquarters, a partnership that TVS said covered joint planning, shared expertise and a single integrated enforcement push.
Foreigners picked up in such operations are usually dealt with under the Immigration Act 1959/63. Overstaying, entering or remaining without a valid pass, and falsifying travel documents sit among the offences the department acts on most often. Entering or remaining without a valid pass is an offence under section 6, punishable by a fine of up to RM10,000 or up to five years in jail, or both.
Overstaying falls under section 15 and carries a fine of at least RM10,000 or up to five years in jail, or both. Offenders may also be offered a compound, an out-of-court settlement, of RM3,000.
A foreign national convicted of an immigration offence may also be held in custody and removed from Malaysia once any sentence has been served.
The department said: “The integrated operation reflects its commitment to strengthening enforcement through shared expertise and comprehensive action to curb immigration violations.”
It added that enforcement and monitoring would be stepped up to ensure compliance with the law and to safeguard national sovereignty and security.
The statement did not say what each detainee is alleged to have done, or where they are being held.
