| Paying the Price for Complaining |
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By Suganthi Suparmaniam KUALA LUMPUR 11 July: Three Myanmar women are paying the price for lodging a complaint against their factory kitchen supervisor. Tin Tin Khing, Aye Aye Aling and Myint Myint Khang have been detained at the Lenggeng detention camp for the past 17 days and face deportation despite being legal workers.The women's plight began after they lodged a report at the Brickfields police station on June 11, claiming to have been harassed and threatened by the factory's kitchen supervisor. They said when the supervisor threatened to electrocute them, they reported him to the management and the police. When they returned to their hostel, a management official called and told them to wait for him to discuss their complaint. The women were in for a shock when Immigration officers turned up and arrested them. The women learnt that their employer had reported them as running away and had cancelled their work permits. Tenaganita programme coordinator S. Florida said the fact that the women were at their hostel clearly showed that they had not run away. She urged the authorities to investigate the employer for lodging a false report. She also questioned the Immigration Department for arresting the women as they had not breached any law. Florida said Tenaganita had failed to get the women released. "The Immigration does not recognise the women's right to redress. I'm afraid their orders for deportation will jeopardise the case and the employer will get away scot-free." Immigration enforcement chief Datuk Ishak Mohd could not be reached for comment. |
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