IPOH, March 16 — Perak Immigration director, Meor Hezbullah Meor Abd Malik, announced that out of 358 migrants inspected at the Bercham Flats, 158 were detained for residing in Malaysia without valid visas or permits, and for overstaying their allowed duration.

The detainees were 83 men, 54 women, 8 boys, and 3 girls, all aged between 9 and 60 years old, hailing from Indonesia, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam, he highlighted.

"Most of these individuals were renting apartments from local landlords. Approximately 560 units in 15 blocks were inspected during the operation,” he stated early this morning.

One of the detainees was Indonesian Elriyanti, aged 50, who had been working as a house cleaner without a permit for a year.

The woman from Sumatra was among the 158 individuals apprehended during a joint operation dubbed Op Pintu, which involved 160 personnel from the state Immigration Department and the Ulu Kinta General Operations Force, between 1am and 3am.

Elriyanti, a mother of two children aged 14 and 16, stated that she had previously worked in Penang but had relocated to Perak a month ago with the help of a friend.

"I came by ferry, paying RM3,000 (10 million Indonesian rupiah). I worked as a house cleaner, earning RM2,000 a month,” she said during an interview after her detention.

Elriyanti explained that she sent RM600 monthly to her family back in Sumatra, and paid a monthly rent of RM80 to her landlord, sharing the house with three other compatriots.

Meor Hezbullah warned local homeowners not to rent their properties to foreigners without proper authorisation.

He emphasised that doing so could lead to charges under Section 55 (E) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, which carries a maximum fine of RM30,000 or imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both.

Meor stated that following the recent arrests, the department would investigate every homeowner who rented their units to undocumented migrants. — Bernama