Foreign beggars in Kuala Lumpur recently took advantage of the kindness of the Friday prayer congregation for their ‘freelance gig’ at a mosque in the Malaysian capital, and in just 30 minutes, one of them made over RM40.
By the end of the prayer, the foreign beggar made over RM150.
‘Freelance’ foreign beggars in Kuala Lumpur were nabbed by the Immigration Department
The Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) in Kuala Lumpur conducted an operation, known as Op Sapu, yesterday (10 October), following public complaints over the presence of beggars in the area.
In reports by China Press and Sinar Harian, the public noticed that there were both foreign and local beggars, who would gather outside the mosque before the Friday prayer.
Foreign beggars usually travel alone, while most local beggars are homeless, some of whom hold disability (OKU) cards. A local trader known as Rahman said that there were many foreign beggars around the mosque, especially before and after Friday prayers.
The Op Sapu operation was carried out, starting at 2 PM after the Friday prayer had ended, and the operation continued for about an hour.
During Op Sapu in Masjid Jamek Kampung Baru, JIM Kuala Lumpur detained four foreign beggars, who also illegally entered Malaysia.
A total of 22 people, including 12 locals, 4 Indonesians, 3 Burmese, 2 Pakistanis and 1 Sri Lankan, as well as 2 children, were checked by JIM Kuala Lumpur.
3 Pakistanis and 1 Indonesian were arrested after they failed to produce valid entry documents. They are now being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
