LAHAD DATU: The Sabah Immigration Department repatriated 166 Filipinos from here to Bongao Harbour, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines.
The programme on Friday involved 143 men, six women, nine boys and eight girls aged between four months and 66 years. The children were accompanied by their parents or respective escorts.
Sabah Immigration Director Datuk SH Sitti Saleha Habib Yusoff said all individuals involved in the programme were from the Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan Immigration Depots.
On June 16, the Immigration Department also repatriated 11 Filipinos via Kota Kinabalu International Airport to Manila, while in Tawau, nine China nationals were repatriated via Tawau Airport to Guangzhou, China.
She said up to 3,625 foreigners, including 2,428 Filipinos and 70 China nationals, have been repatriated to their countries of origin under the programme to date.
All participants had completed legal procedures in Malaysia and possessed verified travel documents, she added.
Sitti Saleha said the department will take stern action without compromise against any employers protecting foreign workers without valid documents.
Employers may be charged under the Immigration Act 1959/63 including fine, jail term and whipping for sheltering undocumented foreign workers.
