KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Department detained 188 illegal immigrants while they were mesmerised with 'Dugem', or thumping Indonesian techno-dance music that has invaded the Malaysian scene, in a raid on a nightspot in Pudu here at 2am on Wednesday (June 11).
The department said a total of 310 patrons comprising 128 foreign men and 116 foreign women and 66 local citizens were checked, leading to the detention of 106 Indonesian men and 79 women, one Cambodian man and woman and one Nepalese man, all aged between 21 and 35 years old, for offences including overstaying and lacking valid travel documents.
The department's statement said that all foreigners were detained under Section 51(5)(b) of the Immigration Act 1959/1963 and placed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Lenggeng immigration depots for further investigation and action.
In the special night operation, enforced by 129 immigration officers and 11 National Registration Department officers, eight summonses were also issued against the supervisor and caretaker of the nightspot, as well as a female deejay.
According to the statement, the centre opens for business from 11pm to 5am while local and foreign DJs play hypnotic Dugem music to keep foreign patrons engrossed.
In KLANG, the Selangor Immigration Department arrested 12 foreigners during a raid on an entertainment centre believed to be a transit point for guest relations officers (GRO) in Bandar Bukit Tinggi here through Ops Gegar on Wednesday night.
The department’s Selangor director, Khairrul Aminus Kamaruddin, said those arrested in the raid that began at 9.30 pm consisted of seven Cambodian women, two Vietnamese and one Thai, aged 21 to 35, who were suspected of offering sexual services to customers in Klang.
He said two men working as bartenders, a Pakistani and a Vietnamese, were also nabbed.
"Their modus operandi is for negotiations initiated on social media before meeting customers at the nightspot, and after an agreement is reached, GROs will be taken to hotels for a fee of between RM150 and RM300 per hour," he said after the operation ended at midnight on Wednesday.
Khairrul Aminus said the cases are being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) and Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, as well as Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963 for misusing social visit passes.
He said the raid involved 21 officers, and all detainees were taken to the Selangor Immigration Office for further action.
In a separate case, Khairrul Aminus said four illegal immigrants (PATI), including a married couple with a one-year-old boy, were arrested under Ops Sapu at 10.20 pm at a rented house in Taman Klang Jaya.
He said the raid follows complaints about the noisy house being used as a transit point for foreigners. – Bernama
