ALOR STAR, July 16 — A man purportedly posed as the husband of a Laotian woman to prevent them from being arrested by state immigration in an operation at a business premises in Jitra, yesterday.
Kedah Immigration Department director Mohamad Yusri Hashim said the 33-year-old woman from Laos and the 21-year-old ethnic Cham man, were detained at about 11.40pm last night.
The man from Perlis alleged he had married the woman six months ago in Thailand and that she had embraced Islam.
“He also alleged that they were in the process of registering their marriage in Malaysia while the foreign woman claimed she was smuggled into Malaysia,” he said in a statement.
Initial investigations found the woman had committed an immigration offence, as she did not have valid travel document.
“Inspection on the woman also revealed that she was holding a Laos passport which had been cancelled,” he said.
Investigations also found the woman had been deported for overstaying in Penang and was repatriated via Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
According to him, the woman would be investigated under section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959 and section 36 of the same act while the man would be investigated for harbouring illegal immigrant under section 56(1)(d) of the same act.
Mohamad Yusri said illegal immigrants have been using the tactic of marriage to continue staying in the country by using Malaysians as contract husbands or wives.
The woman, said he, had been sent to the Belantik Immigration Detention Depot in Sik while the man was referred to the National Registration Department to identify the status of his citizenship.
“The man who holds a code 71 identity card, is an ethnic Cham and was not born in Malaysia,” he said. — Bernama
