The detainees aboard one of the ferries en route to Nunukan port.
KOTA KINABALU: A total of 182 Indonesians were deported to their country of origin in an exercise by the Sabah Immigration Department in the east coast Tawau district.
Those sent home were earlier detained at the Tawau depot for various offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and Immigration Regulations 1963.
Sabah Immigration director Datuk Sharifah Sitti Saleha Habib Yusoff said the detainees comprised 145 men, 31 women and six children.
She said they boarded the Nunukan Express and Malindo Express ferries bound for Nunukan port in Indonesia from Tawau port on Tuesday (April 11).
“The punishments meted out to the detainees were in line with the Immigration Act and the country’s legal process including and up until the deportation exercise,” she said in a statement on Wednesday (April 12).
Towards this end, she reminded all foreigners to ensure they possessed valid travel passes as well as work permits that allowed them to stay in Sabah before entering the country.
“All enforcement agencies in the state will not hesitate to take action against those who run afoul of the law,” Sharifah said.
She added that the latest deportation exercise, the ninth so far this year, was an ongoing effort by the department for detainees kept at all immigration depots statewide.
She expressed gratitude to the parties and agencies involved in the operation, including the Sabah government and the Consulate-General of the Republic of Indonesia.
