PUTRAJAYA, Jan 16 — The Immigration Department of Malaysia arrested 36 foreigners including United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cardholders during a raid on two premises in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Immigration director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud said during an operation at a popular massage parlour in Bukit Bintang, most of the masseurs and masseuses were found to carry the UNHCR cards.

Some of the foreign workers attempted to escape through the back door but were unsuccessful, he said in a statement today.

Khairul Dzaimee said 10 women and four men from Myanmar and a Filipino man were arrested for working without a valid permit.

"The misuse of UNHCR cards for immoral and illegal activities is a serious offence and the Immigration will propose that the refugee status of those detained be cancelled,” he added.

In the second raid, 21 women comprising 10 Vietnamese, five Indonesians, four from Thailand, and two from Laos were arrested at a prostitution den that was hidden behind a reflexology and spa parlour in a three-star hotel in Cheras. — Bernama