Japanese caught in Malacca raid

Japanese caught in Malacca raid

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Thirty-eight Japanese were among 109 foreigners detained in a raid on illegal workers in Malacca, it was reported yesterday.

"This is the first time such a large number of Japanese were hauled up in a single operation," Malacca state Immigration Director Che Mamat Abdullah was quoted as saying by the Straits Times.

In Tuesday's raid two Dutchmen, some Indonesians and others were also detained.

The Japanese only had tourist visas but were found working on the multi-billion dollar National Oil Corporation oil refinery project in Malacca, 150 kilometers south of Kuala Lumpur.

There are about 1.8 million foreign workers in Malaysia and of these about half do not have proper work permits.