KUALA LUMPUR: A 25-year-old Indonesian woman has been detained for allegedly attempting to leave the country using a “flying passport” at Terminal 2 of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA2).
The Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (MCBA) said the woman was stopped at the departure hall around 9am yesterday after immigration officers detected a suspicious security stamp on her passport.
“Checks showed that she had previously entered Malaysia through the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex Immigration checkpoint in Tanjung Kupang, Johor.
“However, a review of the MyIMMs system found no official entry or exit records for her this year.
“The woman was subsequently arrested on suspicion of committing an offence under the Immigration Act 1959/63,” the agency said in a statement.
A “flying passport” refers to a situation in which a foreign passport is cleared by immigration officers without the holder being physically present at the checkpoint.
This allows the document to receive entry and exit stamps without the traveller actually leaving or re-entering the country.
The common modus operandi involves handing the passport to a third party, often for a fee, who then carries it across the border to be stamped by immigration officers.
The MCBA said the woman is currently being held at the KLIA2 Immigration Depot before being handed over to the Selangor Immigration Department’s Enforcement Division for further investigation.
It added that efforts are underway to identify the individuals behind the attempt, and disciplinary action would be taken against any officers found complicit.
Earlier this month, an Indonesian man was also detained at KLIA2 for allegedly trying to leave the country using a “flying passport.”
On July 26, it was reported that four immigration enforcement officers attached to the Johor Customs, Immigrations and Quarantine (CIQ) complex in Sultan Iskandar Building were arrested for allegedly stamping passports without the holders being physically present at a Malaysia-Singapore land border checkpoint.
Two of the officers were arrested by the MCBA Compliance Unit during a surprise inspection, before they were handed over to the graft busters. Two other personnel were detained later for the same offence.
During the arrests, MACC seized 14 foreign passports, four mobile phones and cash believed to be bribes totalling RM3,000.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
