The detainees are all smiles after their release.
KUCHING: Some of the 40 Sarawakians who have been freed from detention at Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia are expected to arrive home tomorrow (Feb 17).
Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said the first batch of Sarawakians will fly out tomorrow while flight arrangements were still being made for the second batch.
The 40 Sarawakians were among 47 Malaysians detained at the Banteay Meachey provincial prison since December for allegedly being members of an online gambling syndicate.
“Plan A is to get up to 28 of them to fly out first, depending on the availability of seats. Their flight back to Kuching is at about 3.30pm.
“As for Plan B, we are still sorting it out,” she said, referring to the second batch of former detainees.
Fatimah had earlier a led delegation from the Sarawak state government to visit the detainees at the prison on Feb 14.
Julau MP Larry Sng and a few parents also visited the detainees a day earlier. When contacted today, Larry said the process of bringing them back are now being handled and he also reiterated that some of them may return as soon as tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry also thanked the Cambodian government for ensuring the release the Malaysians.
In a statement last night, the ministry confirmed that all 47 of them had been freed as of 7.30pm (Malaysian time).
“The Malaysian government wishes to extend its special thanks to the Honourable Prime Minister of Cambodia, His Excellency Hun Sen and the Honourable Deputy Prime Minister who is also the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, His Excellency Prak Sokhonn for the personal attention given on the matter.
”Malaysia would also like to extend its appreciation to the Senior Minister of Special Mission, Minister of Interior, Minister of Justice as well as all relevant Cambodian authorities in extending their cooperation for the release of the 47 Malaysians,” it read.
The Ministry said it valued the cooperation given by Julau MP Larry Sng and the Sarawak state government which had brought about the early release.
It reminded all Malaysians to be cautious of similar suspicious job opportunities offered in foreign countries.
It advised Malaysians to be extra wary and to always verify the prospective employer’s information before taking up such job offers.