Malaysian authorities are rounding up undocumented migrants as part of efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, the country's police chief said late on Friday, after hundreds of migrants and refugees were detained in the capital Kuala Lumpur.
FILE PHOTO: Police officers wearing protective suits pick up an illegal immigrant from an apartment under enhanced lockdown, during the movement control order due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease , in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 1, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
Over 700 migrants were taken into custody, including young children and ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, during Friday’s raid in a downtown area where thousands of migrants and asylum-seekers live, rights groups had said. “We cannot allow them to move freely... as it will be difficult for us to track them down if they leave identified locations,” Abdul Hamid was quoted as saying.