SOURCE: New Straits Times
31 March 2012
By Sharanjit Singh
MOTORISTS travelling along a busy flyover near the popular Queensbay Mall last Tuesday afternoon were shocked to see a distraught woman wailing and threatening to kill herself.
The woman was later identified as Wang Li Mei, a 38-year old victim of a human trafficking ring from Shandong, China, who ended up in Penang working as a "reflexologist" at a shoplot in Bayan Baru.
Wang had been duped into coming here on the promise of a well paying job as a beautician only to end up being bound on a three-year, RM20,000, contract working as a so-called "reflexologist".
The high school graduate, along with several other women from China, had been working at the outlet for more than a year but only received their salaries occasionally.
They were also forced to endure slave-like working conditions.
Their patience finally ran out last week when the women decided to walk out despite knowing the consequences of being recaptured by their heartless employer.
Fortunately for them, the police were alerted and a patrol car arrived just in time to prevent Wang and her friends from doing something drastic to escape the hell hole they were in.
The rescued women have since revealed that they were forced to work 364 days a year from 11am to 1am and only received a maximum of RM18 from each customer they massaged.
Police have since arrested their employer and remanded him for further investigations.
Balik Pulau OCPD Supt Mohd Hatta Mohd Zain said that the police had classified the case under Section 13 of the Anti-Human Trafficking and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.
The offence carries a maximum of 20 years' jail and fine.
It is hoped that investigations into the case can be concluded quickly as speed is of the utmost importance when it comes to cases involving victims of human trafficking.
The four Chinese women have already been sent to a women's protection centre in Kuala Lumpur and the authorities need to ensure they would be around and available to testify in court when their employer is eventually charged.
Otherwise, it would be a complete mockery of the whole process as unscrupulous employers would know that they can get away with anything, especially cases of mistreatment involving foreign workers.
Such a scenario would undoubtedly lead to more women ending up as slave workers after being conned into coming here with the lure of well paying jobs.
The case involving Wang and her friends has also raised the question of how easy it has become for foreign women to enter Malaysia and end up working in the vice industry, which often use reflexology, massage, health and fitness centres as a front.
In Penang, one only need to take a leisurely drive around the island to see how such centres have mushroomed.
There are all kinds of entertainment centres, reflexology outlets, health spa and fitness centres in almost every shopping complex, street and even neighbourhoods.
It is puzzling who is issuing all the licences and whether there is any co-ordination between the various enforcement authorities in the monitoring of such outlets.
The question also arises as to how the outlet operator, who had enslaved the four Chinese women, had gotten away with what he did for so long without any enforcement authority having a clue about it.
Hopefully, the latest incident involving the four women will be a wake up call for all enforcement authorities to get their act together.
The police has been doing their part in carrying out numerous raids and enforcement checks at different outlets periodically.
However, the police alone cannot be tasked to handle the situation.
The other agencies including the Immigration Department and especially the local authorities Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) and Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) must also do their part and shut down operators who have been found to flout regulations once too often.
It is time to get cracking with more stringent and frequent raids conducted at entertainment and the so-called health centres to ensure there are no more victims of human trafficking or modern-day slavery in Penang.
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