SHAH ALAM: A woman’s brazen attempt to evade arrest by climbing on the roof of a house to flee, failed when she was stopped in her tracks by an enforcement team from the Selangor Immigration Department.
She was among 55 illegal foreigners who were arrested in the department’s early morning raid at a settlement at Sungai Kayu Ara in Petaling Jaya today.
Selangor Immigration Department director Mohamad Shukri Nawi said in the three-hour operation that began at 1am, a total of 152 foreigners were inspected for their work and travel documents among others.
Some 73 officers and personnel from the department were involved in the raid. They were assisted by five National Registration Department officers.
Shukri said a majority of foreigners living at the settlement have permanent citizen status, possess long term social visit passes, were spouses to Malaysian citizens and have valid temporary foreign worker passes.
“However, 55 illegal foreigners were arrested for flouting various immigration laws. There are 24 men, 24 women as well as 7 children aged between 10 months and 58.
“One woman tried to flee by escaping through the roof of a house and another man hid in the ceiling. But their tactics failed as we managed to track them down.
"Many of the illegal foreigners were also sound asleep when the raiding team stormed the settlement,” said Shukri.
He said those arrested were taken to the department’s enforcement unit for further investigation.
They will be placed under a 14-day remand at the Semenyih Immigration Depot for offences such as invalid permits and overstaying, he added.
“We will also investigate owners of premises used to shelter the illegal foreigners found at the settlement. Should there be sufficient evidence, we will not hesitate to take legal action.”