MANILA, Philippines – Four girls from the Philippines were rescued after a raid on Wednesday, April 18, at a night club in Malaysia.
The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said in a statement that the girls, aged 27 to 36 years old, are victims of human trafficking. Prior to the raid, the girls were locked up and forced to work in a night club in Johor Baru, some 220 kilometers away from Kuala Lumpur and is near the Malaysian border with Singapore.
The four sneaked a chance to ask for help from the the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, which alerted the Embassy. They are now in a shelter run by Malaysian police and welfare authorities, and will be turned over later to the Embassy for repatriation to Manila, the statement added.
According to the Embassy, the victims were allegedly recruited in Manila by a certain Ramil Garcia, who promised them of high-paying jobs in Malaysia. The girls were brought to Malaysia via the illegal “backdoor,” passing from Manila to Zamboanga, and then to Sandakan in Sabah.
In Sandakan, the girls were informed of their real work. They were then brought to Johor Bahru and sold to a certain club owner Emy Wong. The girls were immediately locked up at the Wong residence, and made to work at the club the following day.
Modus operandi
Malaysian CID agents and two Embassy officials raided the club on Wednesday, but did not find the club owner and the girls there. The team then proceeded to the Wong residence, where the girls were found locked up.
The police was able to arrest Mrs Wong’s husband there. Mrs Wong is now being pursued by authorities.
The Embassy reminded Filipinos to be aware of the modus operandi of trafficking syndicates to avoid becoming victims. “Our Filipinos should already beware anytime they are made to exit through the ‘back door’ in the Tawi-Tawi area without proper documentations. In most likelihood, they are being trafficked already,” it said. – Rappler.com
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