JOHOR BARU: Four foreigners who made RM12,000 a month begging at a night market in Taman Nusa Perintis in Gelang Patah have been detained.
The beggars were nabbed in an Immigration Department operation on Wednesday.
State Immigration Department director, Datuk Mohd Rusdi Mohd Darus, said the two Thai men, a Cambodian and a Pakistani, allegedly exploited their disabilities and used religious school appeal papers to solicit donations.
They were found to have misused their social visit passes and were able to collect about RM400 daily or RM12,000 per month. The men were unable to produce valid permits to remain in the country.
"They manipulated public sympathy at the night markets for the past three months, claiming the donated funds were to be channelled to religious schools," he said in a statement.
Rusdi said following public complaints, the raiding Immigration party detained the four men aged between 22 and 56.
He added that the department had raided the location early this year. However, the activities by the foreign beggars resumed due to the night market's strategic location and public sympathy.