14 foreigners detained in Lawas immigration operation

MIRI (Feb 25): The Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) Sarawak detained 14 foreigners for various offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63 during a two-day ‘Kutip dan Sapu’ operation conducted on Feb 21 and 22 around Lawas.

JIM Sarawak said the operation, conducted by its Lawas branch, was aimed at curbing the presence of illegal immigrants in the town.

“The operation, carried out based on intelligence and public information, involved inspections at identified rented houses and business premises, resulting in the detention of 14 foreign nationals.

“Among the offences detected were failure to possess valid travel documents and overstaying beyond the permitted period,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.

JIM Sarawak added that all those detained were taken to the Lawas Immigration Office for further investigation.

It stressed that said such enforcement operations would continue from time to time, and urged the public, including employers and owners of rented premises, to be responsible by ensuring foreign nationals have valid documents, in order to keep Lawas safe, orderly and compliant with the law.