KOTA BARU: Kelantan police have urged employers in the state to ensure that the foreign workers they hire have valid documentation to avoid getting into trouble with the law.

       Kelantan acting police chief Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun said intelligence and operations carried out found that many foreign workers working on farms or orchards in Gua Musang, Kuala Krai and Jeli did not have valid permits, which could result in employers or company managers being arrested.

       “We often receive reports of fights or deaths involving foreign workers on farms, and upon inspection, we find that most of them did not have valid documents.

       “In such cases, police will take action by detaining the manager or estate owner who hired them,” he told Bernama during a press conference at the Kelantan police contingent headquarters here yesterday.

       He said this following an operation carried out last Sunday, where two individuals, namely the owner and manager of a farm in Gua Musang, in their 30s were detected to have employed foreign workers without permits after last Friday’s discovery of the death of a Myanmar worker.

       “Employers who hire illegal immigrants can be convicted of an offence under Section 55B of the Immigration Act 1959/63, which provides for a fine not exceeding RM50,000 or imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both, for each employee hired,” he said.

       He added that employers can also be investigated under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.