64 foreigners detained in Malacca

A total of 64 foreign citizens, including seven Vietnamese women, were detained during raids conducted by the Immigration Department at nine locations in Melaka Tengah which ended at 6am today. State Immigration director, Kamalludin Ismail, said the Vietnamese women, aged between 25 and 30, were detained at a car workshop which had been renovated into an entertainment centre in Malim here at 9pm. He said the women were believed to be working as guest relations officers (GRO) and were entertaining their guests when the raid was conducted at the premises. The workshop was believed to have been operating as an entertainment centre since three months ago, he told a media conference here today. Meanwhile, a Cambodian couple attempted to flee by leaving behind their four-year-old daughter to avoid arrest when Immigration officers went to raid at a house in Taman Bukit Rambai at about midnight. "The woman has over-stayed in the country and her husband is detained for harbouring her," he added. He said two Indonesian women, both in their 30s and pregnant, were also detained during the raid at Taman Bukit Rambai for not having valid travel documents. Kamalludin said all the foreigners who were detained in the raids which began at noon yesterday were then sent to the Immigration Detention Depot in Machap Umboo for further action.