Malaysia detains 173 illegal Myanmar immigrants

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 29: Malaysia has detained 173 people from Myanmar for illegal entry, an official said today, but the UN refugee agency criticised the arrests saying some of the detainees were asylum-seekers fleeing persecution.

The immigrants, including women and children, were rounded up in a swoop on a jungle-clad settlement in the central Selangor state yesterday.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the detained included 45 people who held documents showing them to be refugees recognised by the UN body.

''We are very concerned about the arrest of asylum-seekers and refugees, in particular women and children,'' said Volker Turk, the agency's representative in Malaysia.

''This is a departure from normal practice,'' he said in a statement. ''We hope that this can be remedied soon.'' Ishak Mohamad, the enforcement chief at Malaysian immigration, said the detainees were being held at a camp in Lenggeng in the southwestern state of Negeri Sembilan.

He declined further comment. Illegal immigrants face jail and/or caning before they are deported.

Malaysia is home to more than one million foreign workers, mainly from neighbouring Indonesia, India and Bangladesh. They include tens of thousands of foreigners working illegally.

REUTERS