Malaysia sets up barbed wire after eight people sneak in through Johor Straits

Malaysian police have set up barbed wire along a section of the banks of Selat Tebrau, or Johor Straits, after eight individuals were captured on CCTV entering the country illegally.

Johor Bahru South police chief Assistant Commissioner Raub Selamat said a police officer who was on duty at the Bangunan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex received information about an illegal entry at about 1.12am on Friday (June 17).

He said further investigation from the CCTV footage of the area found that there were five men and three women involved in the illegal entry.

The CIQ complex is at the Malaysian end of the Causeway that is linked to Woodlands in Singapore.

“The case is being investigated under Section 6(3) of the Immigration Act,” Raub said in a statement.

Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the barbed wire was among the early measures to safeguard the country’s border. He said the police had also stationed its personnel round-the-clock in the area.

“The police are now tracking the individuals who had entered Malaysia through the illegal route,” he said in a statement posted on his Facebook on Friday.

Raub said: “The individuals involved in the illegal entry have been asked to present themselves at the Johor Baru South district police headquarters to have their statements recorded.”

The video footage showed several people making their way out of the Causeway from Singapore by walking and climbing into an illegal opening without going through Malaysia’s passport control, supposedly to avoid the daily long queues caused by rush hour traffic and the recent reopening of the borders.

Datuk Onn Hafiz added that he had also discussed with the Home Ministry about issues related to CIQ buildings in Johor. Malaysia’s other land link with Singapore is the Tuas to Tanjung Kupang, Johor road. The CIQ complex there is the Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar.

“I hope the Ministry would take these issues more seriously as it affects the image of the country and Johor,” he said.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES