A restaurant in Jalan Kota Raja, Section 27 Shah Alam, was serving more than bakso and gado-gado after hours – it was harbouring an illegal karaoke bar for undocumented foreigners.
The karaoke bar, hidden behind a flimsy zinc wall, was uncovered during a raid by Immigration Department officials at about 1am this morning.
Officials during the raid had difficulty detecting the presence of the karaoke bar, as its exterior looked like nothing more than a construction site. What was inside was a different matter altogether.
About 20 patrons were found hiding behind the zinc siding connected to the eatery, in which full karaoke facilities were set up for the entertainment of those present.
A foreign woman, believed to be the house singer, was apprehended in the raid when she produced dubious travel papers.
The woman in her 20s claimed she received a replacement passport – thought to be a forgery – by a man claiming to to have contacts in the Indonesian embassy over a year ago.
Other foreign women found at the establishment were in possession of only social visitation visas.
The raid was carried out by the Selangor Immigration Department as part of a larger operation targeting entertainment centres in Shah Alam and Klang.
Selangor Immigration deputy assistant director Ramli Othman, who also led the raid, said the karaoke bar was brought to his deaprtment’s attention after receiving complaints from the public.
“As a result of the raid, 18 foreign individuals were detained, including six men aged between 20 to 30 years old, for failing to produce any valid travel documents,” he said, as quoted by Harian Metro‘s Nur Saliawati Salberi.
“Another nine were Vietnamese women set to work at entertainment centres in the area. Some of them are believed to have married local men in order to receive legal protection and to be allowed to work in Malaysia.”
Those arrested will be investigated under Section 6(1) of the Immigration Act 1959/1963 for overstaying their visas, and under Section 15(1) of the same act for abusing their social visitation visas.
The suspects were to be transported to the Semenyih Holding Depot for further investigations.
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