KUALA LUMPUR: An undocumented migrant risked his safety by leaping from the fourth to the third floor to evade authorities during an Op KL Strike Force raid today.
It was reported that the six-storey Hicks Flat has housed undocumented migrants for years, and conditions in and round the property have deteriorated, with the ground floor cluttered with waste and leaking sewage creating a foul smell around the building.
During the raid by the KL Strike Force, comprising Immigration Department, City Hall and police personnel, 'New Straits Times' reporters observed unsanitary conditions, including human waste, along the staircase of the flat.
City Immigration Department director Wan Mohammed Saupee Wan Yusoff said 71 undocumented migrants were arrested during the 12pm operation.
"We conducted two weeks of surveillance following multiple complaints from the public on illegal immigrants and the building's dirty condition," he said.
"We inspected 30 units at the building and checked 150 foreigners, 71 of whom were identified as illegal migrants."
He said the 71 detained comprised 56 men, 13 women and two children from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand and Pakistan.
"During the raid, one individual leapt from his fourth-floor unit to the third floor to evade officers, while another climbed on the roof and hid above the elevator shaft," he said, adding that both men were eventually detained.
Wan Mohammed Saupee said the building's squalid conditions made it unfit for habitation.
City Hall Enforcement Department civil engineer Azmi Mohd Saaid said 27 units had illegally constructed partitions.
"Our personnel are now dismantling them," he said.
"There have been multiple complaints about the stench in the past, and SWCorp has carried out cleaning efforts several times, but the issue persists," he said.
Wan Mohammed Saupee said the deteriorating condition of the building was attributed to the foreign residents, and a joint raid was mounted to address the situation.
Ing see lai @ Ng See Tong, 80, who have lived in Hicks Flat since 1997, said the lack of coordination from the authorities in monitoring the area allowed undocumented migrants to continue residing in the building.
"We have notified the authorities repeatedly, yet they always ask the same questions each time they conduct raids," he said.
It was learnt that some units housed as many as 20 foreigners, with occupants setting up sleeping arrangements in the kitchen.
"The foreigners were charged between RM300 and RM450 per room," said Wan Mohammed Saupee.
"We will identify those renting out these units to illegal immigrants and we will call them in to facilitate further investigations."
He warned people against sheltering or housing undocumented migrants.