Two videos allegedly showed Bangladeshi workers being slapped and attacked by the government-appointed 6P agents.
FULL REPORT
PETALING JAYA: Several foreign workers were allegedly beaten up by government-appointed agents under the 6P amnesty programme – and the incidents were caught in CCTV footages.
According to the Selangor Anti-Human Trafficking Council (Mapmas), representatives of a 6P company were seen slapping and attacking Bangladeshi men applying for work permits in two CCTV footages.
(Under the 6P programme, illegal foreign workers will either be legalised or deported without punishment. The six Ps represent the Malay words for registration, legalisation, amnesty, monitoring, enforcement and deportation. Some 330 companies have been appointed to assist in the registration process.)
The victims in the videos are part of a group of 100 who were cheated by the same company, claimed Mapmas task force member and activist Abdul Aziz Ismail, who spoke to FMT, today.
In one of the videos dated Sept 15, a minute-and-a-half long, a man is seen sitting in the office while another stood before him, slapping his face repeatedly.
The other video, dated May 18, showed a man purportedly in the same office hitting a group of “workers” with a stick and also kicking them in a scuffle.
One of the victims has lodged a police report, naming the company involved as SNT (Universal) Corporation Sdn Bhd, located in Taman Maluri, Cheras.
The company’s CEO was named as Shahidul Islam@Babul, who was supposedly also a Bangladeshi man.
“Babul had taken our passports and our money totalling RM2,835 to RM3,335 to apply for permits under the 6P programme,” wrote Bangladeshi national Abdul Kader Jilani, who apparently represented 154 others in the report.
Human trafficking
However, whenever the immigrants asked the company the status of their application they would be threatened and assaulted, the report added.
The report said that a welfare officer of the Bangladesh High Commission, who has been informed of their plight, told them that they were victims of human trafficking.
Meanwhile, Abdul Aziz said the victims had alerted him of the assaults early this year.
“We managed to obtain the two CCTV footages from one of the Bangladeshis working in the company. The worker was badly beaten up when he refused to give out forged documents to some of his countrymen,” alleged Abdul Aziz.
Abdul Aziz claimed that the 100 over victims were brought into Malaysia by bogus employers.
Upon arrival, he said, their passports were confiscated and they were abandoned by their bogus employers. They managed to escape arrest so far.
“When the 6P programme was implemented, they were given the opportunity to be legalised. However, they
had to pay ridiculous amounts… some were even charged up to RM5,000,” he claimed.
Abdul Aziz said the 6P company did not provide proper services, and resorted to violence when the Bangladeshi workers queried about their status.
“They were cheated, robbed and exploited but were afraid to report to the authorities because these ‘agents’ would threaten them.
“Even when they lodged reports, the police and immigration refused to act because they are foreigners,” said Abdul Aziz.
Attempts by FMT to call SNT Universal Corporation, and the CEO of the company, were unsuccessful.
Police to investigate
Meanwhile, Cheras police chief ACP Mohan Singh confirmed that a report was lodged on the matter. He said the matter will be investigated under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act 2010.
“The report was made by only one person, but the complainant said in the report that a few of them were cheated, though there was no specific mention of an assault in the report, only that they were frightened when they asked for their permit.”
However, Mohan said that police would further investigate claims of abuse, given that CCTV videos have been exposed.
Asked about accusations that police were reluctant to investigate, Mohan replied:”How can you ask me this kind of question? If there is anything, or any issues, the victims can feel free to see me, personally,” he said.
FULL REPORT
PETALING JAYA: Several foreign workers were allegedly beaten up by government-appointed agents under the 6P amnesty programme – and the incidents were caught in CCTV footages.According to the Selangor Anti-Human Trafficking Council (Mapmas), representatives of a 6P company were seen slapping and attacking Bangladeshi men applying for work permits in two CCTV footages.
(Under the 6P programme, illegal foreign workers will either be legalised or deported without punishment. The six Ps represent the Malay words for registration, legalisation, amnesty, monitoring, enforcement and deportation. Some 330 companies have been appointed to assist in the registration process.)
The victims in the videos are part of a group of 100 who were cheated by the same company, claimed Mapmas task force member and activist Abdul Aziz Ismail, who spoke to FMT, today.
In one of the videos dated Sept 15, a minute-and-a-half long, a man is seen sitting in the office while another stood before him, slapping his face repeatedly.
The other video, dated May 18, showed a man purportedly in the same office hitting a group of “workers” with a stick and also kicking them in a scuffle.
One of the victims has lodged a police report, naming the company involved as SNT (Universal) Corporation Sdn Bhd, located in Taman Maluri, Cheras.
The company’s CEO was named as Shahidul Islam@Babul, who was supposedly also a Bangladeshi man.
“Babul had taken our passports and our money totalling RM2,835 to RM3,335 to apply for permits under the 6P programme,” wrote Bangladeshi national Abdul Kader Jilani, who apparently represented 154 others in the report.
Human trafficking
However, whenever the immigrants asked the company the status of their application they would be threatened and assaulted, the report added.
The report said that a welfare officer of the Bangladesh High Commission, who has been informed of their plight, told them that they were victims of human trafficking.
Meanwhile, Abdul Aziz said the victims had alerted him of the assaults early this year.
“We managed to obtain the two CCTV footages from one of the Bangladeshis working in the company. The worker was badly beaten up when he refused to give out forged documents to some of his countrymen,” alleged Abdul Aziz.
Abdul Aziz claimed that the 100 over victims were brought into Malaysia by bogus employers.
Upon arrival, he said, their passports were confiscated and they were abandoned by their bogus employers. They managed to escape arrest so far.
“When the 6P programme was implemented, they were given the opportunity to be legalised. However, they
had to pay ridiculous amounts… some were even charged up to RM5,000,” he claimed.Abdul Aziz said the 6P company did not provide proper services, and resorted to violence when the Bangladeshi workers queried about their status.
“They were cheated, robbed and exploited but were afraid to report to the authorities because these ‘agents’ would threaten them.
“Even when they lodged reports, the police and immigration refused to act because they are foreigners,” said Abdul Aziz.
Attempts by FMT to call SNT Universal Corporation, and the CEO of the company, were unsuccessful.
Police to investigate
Meanwhile, Cheras police chief ACP Mohan Singh confirmed that a report was lodged on the matter. He said the matter will be investigated under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act 2010.
“The report was made by only one person, but the complainant said in the report that a few of them were cheated, though there was no specific mention of an assault in the report, only that they were frightened when they asked for their permit.”
However, Mohan said that police would further investigate claims of abuse, given that CCTV videos have been exposed.
Asked about accusations that police were reluctant to investigate, Mohan replied:”How can you ask me this kind of question? If there is anything, or any issues, the victims can feel free to see me, personally,” he said.
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