Seeing beggars asking for alms along the roadside or at public places isn’t an unusual sight. However, there are many questions raised when it comes to whether they’re truly in need or part of a syndicate.
Officers from the Immigration Department in Johor recently arrested a group of beggars who came from countries outside of Malaysia after multiple complaints were lodged by the public.
Foreign beggars nabbed, found to have earned RM18k monthly
In a statement issued by the Immigration Department, it wrote that the operations were carried out at night markets located at Kampung Melayu Majidee and Taman Abad around 7pm on Monday (Feb 3).
A total of 18 foreign beggars aged between 40 and 69 were arrested, where they consisted of:
- 4 Chinese nationals
- 4 Thailand nationals
- 3 men and 1 woman from Cambodia
- 2 men and 2 women from Syria
- 1 Bangladeshi
- 1 Pakistani
According to Director of Johor State Immigration, Dato’ Hj Mohd Rusdi, he said some of the detained beggars were disabled and utilised their disability to garner sympathy and subsequently, money from the public.
He also revealed each of them were able to make an average of RM600 daily, which amounts to approximately RM18,000 on a monthly basis.
All of the beggars were later taken to the Johor Immigration Department headquarters for investigation and the incident is now being probed under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Immigration Regulations 1963.
Towards the end of the statement, Mohd Rusdi called upon all foreigners currently in the country to follow existing laws and regulations.
On a side note, the RM18,000 figure is an increase from the previously reported figure of RM12,000 last November:
