KL arrests 120 Filipino immigrants

KL arrests 120 Filipino immigrants

MALAYSIA: Malaysian military forces arrested on Monday 120 suspected illegal immigrants as they approached by boat from the southern Philippines, the national news agency reported.

Brig. Gen. Mohamed Yasin Yahya of Malaysia's Fifth Infantry Brigade said the suspects were in two boats that were stopped shortly before dawn near Berhala island off Sabah state on Borneo, the Bernama agency said.

The boats had apparently come from Tawi Tawi in the southern Philippines, he said.

Mohamed Yasin said the suspects were detained because they did not have proper travel documents, and have been handed over to police. Sabah is a short boat ride from the poor and violence- prone Philippine province of Mindanao. --AP