Human trafficking victims rescued, couple held

KOTA KINABALU: Police have rescued two girls, a boy and a woman who they believe were victims of human trafficking here early this month.

City police chief ACP M. Chandra said the victims, aged 15, 17 and 18, and a 16-year-old boy were rescued in Putatan on Feb 7.

"Police were initially tipped of an illicit activity taking place at an entertainment outlet in Cyber City at Jalan Lintas," he said.

During the raid, police rounded up three foreign girls, the outlet caretaker and a DJ for investigation, he said.

"While interrogating the foreign women, they claimed to have been exploited by their employers into working as guest relations officers (GRO).

"They claimed that their employers had tricked them into believing that they would be given jobs at restaurants in Lahad Datu.

"Based on this information, a police team raided a house in Putatan and detained a couple.

"Police also found a 16-yearold foreign boy who is also believed to be victim of this explotation," he said at a press conference at the Karamunsing police station here yesterday.

Chandra said investigation also revealed the victims, staying in Putatan, were believed contacted by the couple through WeChat and were promised jobs in Lahad Datu.

They were however forced into illicit act.

The victims also told police that they had on several occasions tried to escape from their captors but were recaptured.

"One of the victims claimed to have been handcuffed for being aggressive in trying to escape," said Chandra.

The couple, 22 and 30 years old, have been detained to assist police investigation, while the victims are currently being placed at temporary shelters in Negeri Sembilan and Johor.

The case is being investigated under Section 14 of the AntiTrafficking In-Person Act 2007, Section 55 B and Section 61 C of the Immigration Act 1959, and Section 4 of the Public Entertainment Ordinance.