KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — The Immigration Department yesterday arrested two directors and the marketing officer of a manpower agency in Seri Kembangan, near here, on suspicion of offering services for the Rehiring Programme, which had already been stopped last year.

Immigration director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud said the arrests were made at the company’s office at Desa Ria Business Centre in Seri Kembangan in a joint operation with the Manpower Department and Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Council (MAPO).

Checks by the raiding party found 29 foreign passports, registration receipts and advertisements, all of which were seized while a foreign employee was also arrested for misuse of his work permit.

“We found that the company targeted employers and illegal migrants by offering these services via social media with specific charges as deposit.

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“The Immigration Department views these violations very seriously as these are syndicates who cheat people. The Rehiring Programme, in fact, ended on June 30 last year and was never extended,” he said in a statement.

Khairul Dzaimee believes the company had been carrying their cheating activities since February and had made handsome profits from it.

“The directors and the marketing officer are being investigated under Section 56(1) (f) of the Immigration Act 1959/1963. I would like to advise employers to be wary and not fall for such offers without referring to us (Immigration) first.

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“We are also sending out a warning to all manpower agencies involved in similar scams to stop them immediately or face the risk of stern action,” he added.

He said this would ensure employers and migrant workers will not be fleeced by unscrupulous agencies in the future. — Bernama