Seven Vietnamese women saved in prostitution bust, Bangladesh ‘captain’ caught

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

The department said the seven women, aged between 32 and 45, were rescued during a raid on a shop in Klang on Oct 21.

“Based on the complaints received, the women were imprisoned inside the premises and beaten if they refused to serve customers. They had all entered the country as tourists but were forced to work sexually in the premises.

“The premises was heavily guarded by a Bangladeshi ‘captain’ and CCTV cameras 24 hours a day,” he said in a statement on Wednesday (October 23).

During the raid, immigration officers were forced to break down the front door after those inside refused to cooperate.

The captain attempted to escape through a second-story window, but was successfully apprehended by the raiding party.

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

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