PUTRAJAYA - Seven Vietnamese women, victims of a sexual exploitation ring, were rescued in an Immigration Department (JIM) operation on a two-story shophouse in Klang, Selangor, on Monday (Oct 21).
The victims, aged between 32 and 45, entered the country as tourists but were forced and exploited as sex workers at the premises.
"Based on a complaint received, the seven Vietnamese women were reported to have been confined in the premises and beaten if they refused to serve customers.
"The premise was tightly controlled by a Bangladesh 'captain' and monitored around the clock through closed-circuit television (CCTV)," JIM said in a statement today.
According to JIM, the operation team had to break down the main door of the premises during the inspection as the "captain" refused to cooperate and attempted to escape through a window on the second floor of the building.
"Based on our interviews, the seven women's passports were held by an individual believed to be the agent who had offered them jobs. They were only paid RM60 per customer and their movements were strictly controlled, including being prohibited from going out to buy food and necessities," said the statement.
JIM reported that the operation also used an approach to identify victims of human trafficking (sexual exploitation) among vulnerable groups, by following the National Guideline on Human Trafficking Indicators (NGHTI) 2.0.
The statement added that JIM has launched an investigation to examine offences under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007. - BERNAMA