KUALA LUMPUR: Human trafficking syndicates are now forcing their victims into prostitution or into marrying local men in order for the women to free themselves from the debt bondage.
Federal Secret Societies, Gambling and Vice (D7) CID principal assistant director, Datuk Abdul Jalil Hassan said this discovery followed the revelation by Vietnamese police of a fraudulent employment agency which promised lucrative incomes in Malaysia.
“Based on the information, we raided a flat in Taman
Sunway, Batu Caves at 1am today (yesterday) and rescued eight Vietnamese women, aged between 17 and 37. They had been locked up since last month to be forced into prostitution.
“Three locals, aged between 48 and 60, who are believed to be the masterminds in arranging trips to Malaysia for Vietnamese women and finding them husbands, and a 23-year-old Vietnamese woman were detained.” He said this to reporters after attending a conference on “Capacity Building Programme: Prevention of Migrant Smuggling and Illegal Migration in Southeast Asia”, here, yesterday.
Abdul Jalil said police also seized 12 passports believed to belong to Vietnamese women who were on their way to this country, and marriage registration documents, in the flat.
“All the victims were initially offered jobs as waitresses with lucrative incomes before they would be forced into prostitution or into agreeing to marry local men to settle their debts of RM10,000 each because the agent handled their tickets for the trip.” He said investigations on the locked-up victims revealed that one of them had agreed to marry a local man because she did not want to become a prostitute.
“The syndicates will also handle the marriage including furnishing the marriage certificate for the Vietnamese woman who agreed to be married to a local man.
“The three locals have the role of finding local men who want to marry the Vietnamese women at charges ranging from RM18,000 to RM20,000 each,” he said. — Bernama