GEORGE TOWN, March 18 — The discovery of 24 foreigners’ bodies which were dumped in various parts of Penang and Kedah since early last year, has been linked to human trafficking syndicates.
The dead, all men, were believed to have undergone extreme physical and mental abuse at the hands of human traffickers.
All the victims, aged between 20 and 40, were from Myanmar and Bangladesh. Autopsy documents obtained by Malay Mail revealed many died of pneumonia.
The bodies, some highly decomposed and wrapped in bedsheets, were disposed of in several areas on the mainland where human traffickers have been active. No identification documents were found.
Police sources said the bodies were found in remote places — including oil palm plantations, roadsides and rivers in Bukit Mertajam, Machang Bubuk, Kubang Semang, Bukit Tengah, Bukit Tambun, Bukit Minyak, Tasek Gelugor, and Kulim. One was dumped on the island.
The sources said isolated villages in the mainland were an ideal place for the syndicates to operate.
Checks indicated the illegal border crossers could have fallen severely ill during the weeks-long torturous journey through the jungles and suffered malnourishment.
When they finally made it to Malaysia, they are thought to have been caged in homes in isolated areas and underfed, causing their health to deteriorate rapidly, the sources said.
Some of the victims are believed to have died during their journey to Malaysia.
Sources said the foreigners were intentionally starved by the human traffickers to make them weak.
“The foreigners were sneaked in from Thailand and confined in overcrowded homes in villages until sold to employment agents for between RM7,000 and RM9,000 to work in farms and plantations,” said a source.
The source said the mainland appeared promising as there was a high demand for workers in the manufacturing industry.
“Once here, the traffickers would demand between RM5,000 and RM7,000 from the victims’ families with the threat that they would otherwise be killed.
“It was made easy by the porous border. Human traffickers are having a field day while the authorities are struggling to cope with the influx.”
State police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi, however, said the deaths were not linked to human trafficking syndicates.
“We have arrested several groups in the last two years responsible for human trafficking and there was no concrete evidence to indicate the bodies were dumped by these syndicates,” he said.
Penang appears to be the target of unchecked intrusion that is worsening every year. For many, the conditions in their countries are unbearable, no matter how perilous the alternatives.
Last year, Penang was rocked by a series of murders believed related to ethnic tensions in Myanmar. Some 23 Myanmar national were found dead in various areas in the state.
Most of them had their throats slit. There were also several cases of mutilated body parts scattered in several locations.
Nine Myanmar nationals were charged in January this year with slaying their countrymen following the discovery of a house in Kampung Pisang in Cherok To’kun in Machang Bubok that was used as a slaughterhouse to murder and dismember the victims.
