KOTA KINABALU, Dec 28 — The Immigration Department has today called for courts to impose harsher caning punishments on employers convicted of hiring or harbouring illegal foreign workers.

Its director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said the law provided for caning under the Immigration Act 1959/63 for those employing six or more illegal immigrants.

“Our records show that in the past two years, only three out of 1,400 employers convicted in court were ordered to be caned,” he told reporters during a press conference here after the monthly Sabah Immigration Department gathering.

“Caning guilty errant employers would be a deterrent to other employers who are considering hiring illegal immigrants,” he said.

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Mustafar said he had met with the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak and explained the need for judges to impose caning as a deterrent to employers not to employ illegal immigrants.

“This is an issue of sovereignty and security. We feel that the provisions of the law should be used to send a clear message to such employers who hire illegals.

“Although some people can say that caning is cruel, from a security and sovereignty aspect, it is important that the Immigration Department does not compromise on this matter,” he said.

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“Other countries also provide mandatory caning in their laws as a deterrent against employers hiring illegal immigrants as well as repeat illegal immigrant offenders,” he said, adding that it has had a positive effect on controlling the problem of illegal immigrants in other countries that have adopted the measure.

Meanwhile, the department detained 4,800 illegal immigrants and 62 employers during statewide operations this year.

Mustafar said a total of 27,000 people were screened during 1,371 operations in Sabah this year.

Nationwide, out of 190,000 people screened, 47,000 who were detected as illegal immigrants were arrested in some 14,500 operations. Also, 1,400 employers have been charged in court, he added.