Rioters volunteer to leave Malaysia

Rioters volunteer to leave Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): All 84 people identified as instigators of a riot at a Malaysian transit camp for Vietnamese boat people last month have volunteered for repatriation, the national Bernama news agency reported yesterday.

Camp Commandant DSP Lim Boon Boo was quoted as saying the 84 had enough of fighting repatriation and had given up hope of being resettled in third countries.

"After the rabble-rousers were segregated, I counseled them until they realized that there is no point in persisting with their actions," he said.

Lim said 1,150 Vietnamese had registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for voluntary repatriation after the Jan. 18 riot at the Sungai Besi camp, in which seven policemen and 17 Vietnamese were injured.