KOTA KINABALU: A total of 180 Filipinos have been deported to their country of origin by the Immigration Department.
The deportees, comprising 79 men, 38 women and 63 children, were sent home by sea after boarding the ferry MV Ming Hai Express bound for Bongao in the Philippines.
Sabah Immigration director Datuk Sharifah Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof said the deportees had finished serving their sentences at the Sandakan immigration depot.
She said the detainees were taken from Sandakan to the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) complex in Lahad Datu to be deported.
She said they were aged between one and 80, adding that the children were either with their parents or guardians.
“All the detainees returned home at their own cost,” she said in a statement.
Sitti Saleha said costs included bus transportation from Sandakan to Lahad Datu.
Adults paid RM375 per person while children aged between five and 13 were charged RM215. Children aged four and below travelled for free.
“Those who were deported had entered the country without a valid pass or permit besides being found to have overstayed.
“They have served their prison sentences and were deported after obtaining their travel documents.
“So far this year, a total of 6,185 undocumented Filipinos have been deported to their country of origin through sea, bringing the total number of foreigners sent home to 8,842,” she added.
She said all undocumented migrants will be blacklisted in the Immigration Department’s system.
“The deportation exercise is part of the department’s ongoing operation in all immigration depots in Sabah to prevent prolonged detention of foreigners,” she added.
