RANTAU PANJANG: Kelantan Immigration has uncovered a new border scam involving “counter setting” after arresting nearly 40 Thais, just days after a report found the “flying passports” scandal still persists in the state.
The discovery was made during an operation yesterday where 39 Thai nationals were detained for questioning.
According to sources, the individuals entered the country by submitting their passports at the counter to be stamped.
The issue, however, was that their re-entry occurred during the mandatory seven-day “cooling-off” period after their initial stay on a social visit pass had lapsed, which violates a standing directive from the Immigration Director-General.
The sources said that the counter officers at the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) complex had failed to comply with this directive.
Although the entry and exit of the individuals technically adhered to the Immigration Act, the issue was the officers’ non-compliance with the fixed instruction which prohibits visitors from re-entering Malaysia unless the seven-day cooling-off period is fulfilled.
The department is also investigating whether its officers properly keyed the entries into the immigration system, as failure to update the system is considered a serious offence.
The investigation also uncovered irregularities in some of the seized passports, including disordered or missing stamps. In some cases, entry stamps existed without corresponding exit stamps, which raised suspicion of a procedural breach or tampering.
According to the sources, the Thais, who worked in Malaysia, were found to have returned briefly to Thailand two or three days before their Temporary Work Visit Passes (PLS) expired.
They would then make a U-turn at the border and re-enter without submitting their travel documents to the Malaysian immigration counters.
“The act was merely a performance to fool authorities into thinking they had complied with immigration laws and renewed their passes properly,” a source said.
The individuals were ferried across the border in roadtour vans, a service often arranged by their employers, particularly those who operate Thai restaurants.
These employers are believed to have coordinated the trips and the alleged scheme.
In the same operation, a van driver was found in possession of a passport suspected of being stamped with a forged immigration seal.
A source said the passport, which belonged to a man in his 20s, is believed to have been obtained from an agent linked to the previously uncovered “flying passport” scandal.
The Kelantan Immigration Department is continuing investigations under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and is working to identify the agents and individuals behind the counter manipulation and potential internal breaches.
The original “flying passport” ruse was reported on July 29 to persist in Kelantan on a smaller scale. The ruse was detected at only one of the three checkpoints in the state, despite being separated from Thailand by the shallow Sungai Golok.
“Flying passports” is a tactic where passports are smuggled across borders without their holders, allowing problematic individuals to bypass immigration checks and security protocols undetected.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
