Forty-plus NTT workers return from Malaysia only with tales of suffering

"Although we had official passports, Malaysian authorities considered us as illegal immigrants and then punished us with canes several times before putting us into prison," Jumadi said while showing some cane marks on his back to Apjati officials.

Meanwhile, local Apjati spokesman Abraham Paul Liyanto said the association had received complaints from NTT people who had been cheated by immigration officers at the Tanjung Pinang-Malaysian border.

"Apparently, the immigration officers at the border issued them tourist passports at the price of 3,000 ringgit or about seven million rupiah a piece. The Malaysian police did not stop them after they entered from Tanjung Pinang but Malaysian volunters later arrested them, cut their passports into two, thereby making them illegal immigrants who deserved punishment," Liyanto said.