Police detained a former politician who had contested in the 14th general election (GE14) for involvement in human trafficking after a series of raids in Penang and Kedah from Oct. 27.
The man in his 50s who claims to be a Datuk was apprehended in his home in the northeast district of Penang at 8:25 p.m. on Sunday, following the arrests of 10 others during the raid, according to Penang police chief Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain.
“Acting on information and intelligence obtained over the past two weeks, police arrested a man in a raid at a shop in Simpang Ampat, Nibong Tebal, near here, on Oct. 27 and rescued seven victims in the premises, which had been turned into a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center.
“Several other raids were conducted by Penang and Kedah police and they resulted in the arrest of six men and a woman, as well as the rescue of three men – before the raid on the house in the northeast district and the arrest of the ‘Datuk’ together with a woman and man, as well as (the rescue of) three men,” Shuhaily said in a press conference here yesterday.
The rescued victims were men between the ages of 22 and 62, while the detainees included nine men and two women who worked as caregivers and employees at the rehabilitation facility.
The ‘Datuk’ who was first suspected of being the syndicate’s mastermind was also the center’s founder, according to Shuhaily, and he lost his bids for both parliamentary and state assembly seats in the GE14 election.
He said that despite the rehabilitation centre being open for business for two years, police discovered that it was not registered with any government agency.
He stated that each victim had described being locked up and tormented, as well as being beaten and made to work without pay or breaks. They claimed that the centre had closed-circuit cameras to watch their every move and that they were only provided a little amount of food.
“We also seized several items including a laptop, nine handphones, two iron chains, a PVC pipe, and two iron rods attached to a bed,” he said.
Shuhaily added that all the suspects have been remanded to assist in the investigations.
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