149 Chinese men deported through Penang airport
A total of 149 undocumented Chinese migrants, all men, were deported to their home country through Penang International Airport on 11 Nov, after serving sentences at the Belantik immigration depot in Sik, Kedah, the state Immigration Department said in a statement carried by the New Straits Times.
The department said the families and employers of the detainees paid the full cost of the repatriation.
Officials from the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Penang helped arrange the return of the men, the statement said.
“All the detainees had completed their sentences and undergone deportation proceedings in accordance with the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Act 155) and the Immigration Regulations 1963,” it said.
Every person deported was also placed on the Immigration Department’s blacklist, which bars them from re-entering Malaysia.
Chinese nationals are a small part of the detained migrant population. Of 22,166 people held at 20 immigration detention centres, including two depots, as of 30 June, 174 were Chinese, or 0.78 per cent, Free Malaysia Today reported, citing a written parliamentary reply from Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Men were the large majority at 17,872, or 81 per cent, while 4,294 were women. Myanmar nationals formed the biggest national group at 11,194, ahead of Filipinos at 5,200, Indonesians at 3,247, Bangladeshis at 1,133, Thais at 277 and Indians at 250. Another 193 were Pakistanis, 85 Vietnamese, 76 Nepalis and 49 Cambodians, with 288 from other countries.
That was 4,270 more than the 17,896 detainees recorded on 6 July 2025. Length of detention varies widely. Some 11,884 people had been held for three months or less, 2,891 for four to six months, 1,492 for seven to nine months and 855 for 10 to 11 months. Another 5,035 had been held for one to five years, eight for six to 10 years and one for at least 11 years.
The statement did not say when the 149 men were detained, which offences they were convicted of, or how long they had been held at Belantik before the flight home. No women or children were in the group.
