TANAH MERAH: The government is working on repatriating seven Malaysians after they were suspected of entering Philippine waters unknowingly last Sunday.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said negotiations to bring them back are ongoing.
“I have been informed by the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) commander, Datuk Victor Sanjos about the incident and we are now working to bring back the detained Malaysians.
“We are hopeful for a positive result soon. Besides, we are also identifying and contacting the tour company that managed them, because the incident occurred when the boat carrying passengers went out of Malaysian waters before all of them were detained.”
He said this to reporters after officiating the Tanah Merah Baitul Mahabbah here today, which was also attended by Immigration Director-General Datuk Ruslin Jusoh.
Last Sunday, Philippine authorities detained 15 individuals, including seven Malaysians and eight Chinese nationals, on suspicion of illegally entering the country’s waters.
Quoting a Philippines News Agency (PNA) report, Philippine Immigration Bureau Commissioner Norman Tansingco in a statement said those individuals were detained in the waters of Sitangkai, near Tawi-Tawi in the southern region of the country, after being found to have entered Philippine territory on two speedboats and did not have valid travel documents.
Meanwhile, in a related matter, Saifuddin Nasution said cross-border crime trends, especially those related to human trafficking have seen an increasing involvement of Malaysians.
“What I can say is that this trend is increasing and most of the countries detected are neighbouring Thailand and Myanmar.
“There are situations where people travel there on their own, not being deceived by any syndicate, just to go gambling, but when they can’t leave the country, they ask us (the government) for help to bring them home,” he said.
