Malaysia to put four Indonesians to the cane

Malaysia to put four Indonesians to the cane

Reuters, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia sentenced seven illegal immigrants to jail and caning in the first cases under the country's tough new immigration laws, newspapers reported on Saturday.

Two Bangladeshis were each sentenced to two years in jail and one stroke of the cane while four Indonesians were each ordered to be caned twice in addition to serving six months in jail.

Another Indonesian was sentenced to six months in jail and one stroke of the cane.

The seven were convicted of staying in Malaysia without valid documents after an amnesty period for illegal immigrants expired on July 31.

Under the new laws, which took effect on Aug. 1, illegal immigrants and those convicted of harboring them face jail terms of up to five years and up to six strokes of the cane.

Immigration director of central Selangor state, Che Mamat Abdullah, was quoted by the official Bernama news agency as saying on Friday that 13 more cases would be brought to court next week while another 37 cases were under investigation.

He added a Malaysian would be charged in court soon for harboring illegal immigrants.

The Malaysian government estimated there were around 600,000 illegal workers among the two million or so foreign workers in the country, employed in jobs ranging from domestic help to construction and factory work.

Officials said 318,000 illegal immigrants left the country under the amnesty. More than 80 percent were Indonesians.

Malaysian authorities routinely deport thousands of illegal immigrants. But since last year, the crackdown has intensified, following a series of violent incidents, mainly involving Indonesians.