PUTRAJAYA: Seven Vietnamese women, believed to be victims of a sexual exploitation ring, have been rescued in an Immigration Department operation in Klang.
The victims, aged between 32 and 45, entered the country as tourists but were forced and exploited as sex workers, said the department.
“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,” it said in a statement yesterday.
The operation on Monday saw Immigration officers raiding a two-storey shop house to rescue the victims.
“The premises was tightly controlled by a Bangladesh ‘captain’ and monitored around the clock through CCTV,” the department said.
The operation team had to break down the main door of the premises during the inspection as the “captain” refused to cooperate.
The department said the man 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,” it said.
The department said the operation had 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.
