Immigration Dept Denies Entry To 29 Pakistanis In Langkawi

ALOR SETAR, Sept 6 (Bernama) -- The Immigration Department (JIM) denied entry to 29 Pakistan nationals who arrived at the Langkawi International Airport on Wednesday.

Kedah JIM director Mohd Ridzzuan Mohd Zain said his team became suspicious of the Pakistanis and deported them.

“The group (Pakistanis), comprising 28 men and a woman, arrived on a flight on Wednesday and said they had come to Langkawi to participate in the ‘Tuba Cross Country Run’ in Pulau Tuba tomorrow.

“When they were detained, they were wearing sports attire and only had kurtas in their bags…they did not bring any other sports gear including running shoes. It was probably their strategy to conceal their real motive of coming here," he said in a statement here today.

He said after questioning, it was learnt that they had spent nearly RM2,000 each on flight tickets and other expenses while the participation fee for the sports event was only RM45.

“The sports event organiser confirmed that that no other foreign participants had registered for the event other than the group in question. Based on these unreasonable intentions and motives, the Immigration officers at the airport counter decided to refuse their entry under Section 8(3)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 on suspicion of not being genuine tourists,” he said.

"This decision was taken to ensure that the safety and integrity of the country are maintained. The modus operandi of this group was to book a room in a budget hotel in Langkawi and buy a return ticket to Dubai the day after the event, and this raised the question why they would want to leave the country immediately after the sporting event was over," he said.

He also said that usually participatants taking part in programmes in Langkawi would take time to visit and explore interesting locations here before returning to their respective countries.

Meanwhile, Mohd Ridzzuan added that his team will not compromise on the entry of tourists who do not meet the country’s entry conditions, and those who are found guilty can be subject to action under the Immigration Act 1959/63, Passport Act 1966, Immigration Regulations 1963 and Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007.

-- BERNAMA