Cops bust e-waste syndicate exploiting children as labourers
Of the 81 victims rescued, 41 were children, including 21 boys and 20 girls.
KUALA LUMPUR - Police have busted a syndicate involved in processing electronic waste (e-waste) that was using foreign children as labourers.
This was among the violations uncovered during raids conducted on illegal e-waste factories nationwide by the Bukit Aman D3 Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Division (Atipsom).
The operation was conducted based on intelligence and information.
Bukit Aman's D3 division assistant director Senior Assistant Commissioner Soffian Santong said 25 raids were conducted and 54 arrests have been made, since last year.
Those arrested included seven women.
He said last year, there were eight raids with 22 arrests, while this year, as of June, there have been 17 raids involving 32 people who were detained.
"Among those arrested were 27 Chinese nationals, 17 locals, four Pakistanis, four Myanmar nationals, an Indian national and a Taiwanese, all aged between 21 and 61.
"Investigations found that some individuals were involved as supervisors, land or property owners and workers who committed various offences, including not having proper documentation like passports and overstaying their visas," he said in an exclusive interview with Sinar recently.
Soffian said police started taking action against e-waste factories in December 2020 after receiving complaints about human trafficking and other violations.
He said the police received complaints that these factories were hiring foreign workers and exploiting children as forced labour.
"This syndicate is making huge profits by exploiting children as laborers and paying them low wages.
"Investigations found that most of these e-waste factories were operated illegally by Chinese nationals," he said.
Soffian added that the police suspected a syndicate might be involved in these illegal activities, including supplying foreign and underage workers.
"Investigations are also being conducted to identify those supplying these foreign workers," he said.
He said during this period, the division in collaboration with various agencies, successfully rescued 81 victims aged between 14 and 45 who had been forced into labour.
The 41 rescued were children, including 21 boys and 20 girls.
"All the rescued victims consisted of 39 Myanmar nationals, 10 Bangladeshis, eight Pakistanis, seven Indonesians, six Filipinos, five Nepalese, four Cambodians and two Sri Lankans.
"Exploiting children is a serious crime and there have been instances where employers kept their documents, such as passports," he said.
He said based on the raids conducted, it was found that employers also failed to provide suitable accommodations for the workers.
The accommodations provided, he said were in very poor condition and failed to meet the standards set by the Labour Department (JTK).
Soffian said the police took human trafficking and migrant smuggling crimes very seriously.
"The police welcomes the cooperation of the local community in providing information about such crimes to any nearby police station," he said.
On June 26, Sinar, in a special report, highlighted that Malaysia is now facing an issue of increasing e-waste, including computers, mobile phones, televisions, refrigerators and washing machines, amounting to over 365,000 tonnes annually.
The report also revealed that some premises previously raided by authorities have resumed operations, likely driven by the large profits from recycling e-waste.
