Foreign agents using Dept's name to extort
Published on: Monday, October 12, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: The Immigration Department has lodged reports against foreign worker recruiting agents using the department's name to extort money from clients.This came to light following allegations that a Filipino couple was threatened by their Malaysian agent who claimed to have "connections" to get them blacklisted if they did not pay higher fees. State Immigration Director Noor Alam Khan said he is aware of the presence of such agents.
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"I believe they had been using our name or the name of our officers to threaten workers so they could collect monies," he told Daily Express here. The Filipino couple who had come to make a living in Sabah are now in limbo after the recruiting agency they had consulted with in the Philippines claimed they still owe the company money. They had already paid the agency RM23,000 and were baffled when the agent said they still owed RM17,500 and declared the fees to get working visas in Malaysia cost a whopping RM40,000.Speaking on condition of anonymity, they alleged their agent had a lot of connections including personnel from the Immigration Department, Social Security Organisation and Labour Department and already managed to get one of their passports blacklisted.
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"When she wants money she would come to us and say the 'Pengarah' (referring to the Immigration Director) wants to take your passport so better pay up," the couple alleged. "And if we don't our names will be blacklisted in the Immigration Department records," they recalled the agent as telling them.
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The couple said a charge of RM5,000 was also included in the fees, which they were told were payments to the "Pengarah" to approve their visas. They claimed they may not be the only Filipinos who were cheated by the same agent, saying they also came to know others, some of whom are in hiding in Keningau and elsewhere in Sabah. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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