LAHAD DATU: The Sabah Immigration Department deported 149 undocumented Filipinos via the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complex, here, on Monday.
The deportees, who were previously detained at the Sandakan Immigration Depot, were transferred using the MV Ming Hai ferry service to Bongao Port in Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});State Immigration Department Director Datuk Sh Sitti Saleha Habib Yusoff said the deportation involved both adults and children aged between 16 and 65 years.
She said the deportation was conducted at the migrants’ own expense, including ferry tickets and transportation fees from the Sandakan Depot to ICQS Lahad Datu.
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“All the illegal migrants had completed their prison sentences and possessed travel documents issued through the verification programme conducted by the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines from time to time.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});“This deportation of Filipino nationals is carried out via Sabah’s sea entry points using the MV Ming Hai ferry, which provides direct transportation to their original destination in Bongao, the Philippines,” she added.
She urged family members or relatives of detained foreigners in immigration depots in the State, who were eligible to participate in the self-funded repatriation programmes, to come forward and provide support to avoid prolonged detention.
