290 Indian nationals lodged in Malaysian prisons for various offences

NEW DELHI: There are 7,925 Indian nationals lodged in foreign jails for various offences and 290 of them are in Malaysia.

The figures as of January 15 were disclosed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in response to a question in parliament on Thursday.

More than half of the prisoners are in the Gulf Arab region, where 8.5 million Indian migrants live.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has 1,663 Indian prisoners, followed by 1,363 in Saudi Arabia, 466 in Qatar and 460 in Kuwait.

In other countries, 1,039 Indians are held in Nepal, 628 in Pakistan, 194 in China and 76 in Singapore.

In response to another question, the ministry told the upper house of parliament that 4,355 Indian expatriates have lost their lives abroad during the coronavirus pandemic until January 31.

The number of Indian nationals dying due to COVID-19 in Malaysia was 186.

Saudi Arabia recorded the highest toll at 1,237, followed by 894 in the UAE, 668 in Kuwait, 555 in Oman and 203 in Bahrain.

-- BERNAMA