The Vietnamese nationals being repatriated at KKIA.
KOTA KINABALU: Immigration authorities here have repatriated 13 Vietnamese men after they completed their sentences for flouting immigration rules on Tuesday (Dec 3).
The men, aged between 23 and 51, were sent home on a flight to Ho Chi Minh City.
State Immigration director Datuk Sharifah Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof said the men were previously detained at the immigration depot here and in south-western Papar district.
“The undocumented men were sent home from the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA),” she said in a statement.
“They committed offences against Section 15(1)(c) and 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Immigration Rules 1963 for entering the country without a valid permit, besides overstaying,” she added.
Sitti Saleha said that as of this year, the department has deported 50 Vietnamese nationals by air.
“This brings the overall number of foreigners repatriated to their countries of origin to 7,943,” she said, adding that those deported will be blacklisted by the department according to the offences committed.
She said the frequency of deportation exercises was subject to cooperation from the relevant foreign embassies in the country.
She added that the exercise was part of the department's ongoing effort to send home all detainees in Sabah Immigration depots.
She also warned foreign nationals not to abuse their travel passes or other facilities rendered to them.
“Legal action will also be taken against employers as well as business owners who hire foreigners without the necessary valid travel documents or work permits.
“We advise employers to only take in foreign workers through channels that conform with the law,” she said, adding that the department will conduct efforts to weed out undocumented migrants from time to time.
