LAHAD DATU: The Sabah Immigration Department has repatriated 280 Filipinos through Lahad Datu Harbour to Bongao Harbour in Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines.
The repatriation programme on Monday involved 193 men, 51 women, 16 boys and 20 girls aged between one month and 90 years.
The children were accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
Sabah Immigration Director Datuk SH Sitti Saleha Habib Yusoff said all those involved in the programme were from the Tawau Immigration Depots.
On Oct 10, four Chinese nationals were repatriated via Tawau Airport to Guangzhou, China, while Papar Immigration Depot repatriated 11 Filipino women from Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) to Manila, the Philippines.
She said a total of 5,915 foreigners had been repatriated to their countries of origin under the programme to date. They comprised 3,974 Filipinos, 1,629 Indonesians, 132 Pakistanis, 132 Chinese nationals, 25 Vietnamese nationals and 23 others. All those involved had completed the necessary legal procedures in Malaysia and possessed verified travel documents, she added.
The department also reminded the public to remain vigilant in their communities and refrain from harbouring or employing illegal immigrants.
Members of the public were encouraged to channel information on illegal immigrants through the department’s official complaint channels, including the Sistem Pengurusan Aduan Awam (SISPAA) portal at https://spab.gov.my or the Sistem Pertanyaan Online (SPO) at https://eapp.imi.gov.my.
