Seven Vietnamese women saved in prostitution bust, Bangladeshi ‘captain’ nabbed

PETALING JAYA: Seven Vietnamese women were rescued after the Immigration Department busted a human trafficking and sex exploitation syndicate here.

The department said that the seven women, aged between 32 and 45 years old, were rescued during a raid at a shoplot in Klang on Oct 21.

“Based on complaints received, the women were imprisoned inside the premises and beaten if they refused to service customers. All had entered the country as tourists but were forced into sex work at the premises.

“The premises was closely guarded by a Bangladeshi ‘captain’ and round-the-clock CCTV cameras,” it said in a statement on Wednesday (Oct 23).

During the raid, Immigration officers were forced to break through the main door after those inside refused to cooperate.

The captain attempted to escape through a window on the second floor but was successfully arrested by the raiding party.

Investigations showed that the victims were only paid RM60 per customer and that their movements were closely monitored.

The department added that investigations were being conducted under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (Atipsom) 2007.