KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — The Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) foiled an attempt to smuggle Indonesian migrants using layered travel routes and fake entry stamps, following a special operation early yesterday.

Its director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said 11 individuals, including a suspected ‘transporter’, were detained in the operation carried out by officers from the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (ATIPSOM) and the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUAA) units at JIM headquarters, Putrajaya.

The operation was conducted at two locations — Gombak Integrated Transport Terminal (TBG) and Southern Integrated Transport Terminal (TBS) — following intelligence on the arrival of a group of Indonesian nationals in the Klang Valley from Kelantan via express bus.

“At TBG, two men and two women were detained, along with a male ‘transporter’ believed to be managing the group’s movement and logistics in Kuala Lumpur,” he said in a statement today.

Zakaria said at TBS, three men and three women, also Indonesian nationals, were detained for suspected links to the same syndicate.

A Mazda CX-5 used by the ‘transporter’ to transport the migrants was also seized.

Preliminary investigations found the syndicate had shifted from using sea routes in Selangor waters to a more complex method involving layered air and land routes to evade detection.

“They avoid direct flights to Malaysia as many migrants involved are believed to have been blacklisted from entering the country.

“One identified route involves travel from Indonesia to Singapore as a transit point, before flying to Hat Yai, Thailand. Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is also believed to have been used as a transit hub before heading to Hat Yai,” he said.

Upon arrival in Hat Yai, migrants are placed in safe houses before being smuggled into Kelantan through illegal routes along the Thailand-Bukit Bunga border in Tanah Merah.

“After entering Bukit Bunga, they are transported to the capital city using different express bus services on the same night.

“The syndicate, believed to be led by a mastermind in Indonesia, operates through intermediary agents based in Hat Yai, each assigned specific roles,” he said.

These include managing arrivals, providing transit accommodation and falsifying passport entry stamps to mislead authorities.

“The network operates in layers, with clear division of roles to limit information flow and make detection more difficult,” he added.

Zakaria said the migrants, aged between 27 and 60, are believed to have paid between RM3,500 and RM4,000 each to enter Malaysia illegally.

JIM also suspects local involvement in assisting the syndicate, including arranging bus tickets and coordinating logistics. Efforts to trace those involved are ongoing.

“All detainees have been placed at an Immigration Depot for further investigation under ATIPSOM (Act 670) and the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Act 155),” he said.

He stressed that JIM remains committed to combating migrant smuggling and human trafficking, and urged the public to report any suspicious activities.

“Members of the public must not harbour or assist those violating immigration laws, as firm action will be taken without compromise.

“Information can be channelled to the ATIPSOM & AMLA Division at 03-8880 1471 or via email at urusetia_p@imi.gov.my,” he added. — Bernama

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has said that a French journalist was denied entry to Hong Kong in November, accusing the city’s authorities of “weaponising visas” against foreign media workers.

Antoine Vedeilhe, who was shooting a documentary for French public broadcaster France Télévisions, was questioned upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport on November 2 last year, RSF said in a statement on Friday.

He was detained for three hours before being deported without being given a reason, RSF said.

Vedeilhe was the 13th foreign media workers who has been denied entry or a visa by the city’s authorities following Beijing’s imposition of the national security law in 2020, RSF said.

The watchdog said the figure is based on its tally, although it said there is reason to believe many cases have gone unreported due to fear of retaliation.

“On 2 November 2025, [Vedeilhe] was detained for three hours upon arriving at the Hong Kong International Airport… from France, during which he was questioned and subjected to a full-body search before being deported from the territory,” RSF said.

“In the journalist’s view, his detention was a reprisal for his work on a documentary examining Beijing’s grip on Hong Kong.”

Another cameraman for the documentary was able to enter the city, RSF said, but he was followed by “unidentified individuals that he suspects were Hong Kong’s national security police.”

“In the following days, there was a hacking attempt on Vedeilhe’s private email account and his sources in the documentary were harassed by the national security police,” RSF said.

In an emailed reply to HKFP’s enquiries on Friday, the Hong Kong government said it “strongly condemns the smearing remarks and distorted narratives by” RSF.

Hong Kong residents’ human rights and freedoms are protected under China’s constitution and the Basic Law – the city’s mini-constitution – as well as the national security law, the government said.

“As always, the media can exercise their freedom of the press in accordance with the law. Their freedom of commenting on and criticising government policies remains uninhibited as long as this is not in violation of the law,” a government spokesperson said.

The government declined to comment on individual cases. It “accords measures to facilitate the entry of genuine visitors from around the world,” the spokesperson added.

RSF also said France Télévisions received an email from an unknown individual the day after Vedeilhe’s deportation from Hong Kong.

The email warned the French media network that Vedeilhe’s work “comes into conflict” with the national security law and that the outlet’s “editorial choices could be considered ‘incitement to hatred’” – an element of Hong Kong’s sedition offence – according to RSF.

France Télévisions announced the documentary before Vedeilhe’s arrival in Hong Kong, RSF said.

‘Not isolated’

“His case illustrates how closely Hong Kong has aligned itself with China in repressing independent media, and how far the authorities are willing to go in targeting journalists,” RSF’s Asia Pacific advocacy manager, Aleksandra Bielakowska, said in the statement.

Vedeilhe was quoted saying in the statement that he had been travelling to Hong Kong for the past 10 years.

“[I] have always sought to give a voice both to those resisting Beijing’s growing control, and to those within the authorities and civil society who express their attachment to China,” Vedeilhe said.

“My… detention and expulsion are not isolated incidents, and they illustrate how increasingly difficult it has become for journalists to work in Hong Kong,” he added.

Vedeilhe is one of the few to speak openly about being denied entry into Hong Kong.

In August last year, Bloomberg journalist Rebecca Choong Wilkins was denied a work visa renewal by the Immigration Department. At that time, RSF said Wilkins was the 10th journalist whose visa had been denied since the national security law came into force.

Hong Kong has plummeted in international press freedom indices since the onset of the 2020 and 2024 security laws. Watchdogs cite the arrest and jailing of journalists, raids on newsrooms and the closure of around 10 media outlets including Apple Daily, Stand News and Citizen News. Over 1,000 journalists have lost their jobs, whilst many have emigrated. Meanwhile, the city’s government-funded broadcaster RTHK has adopted new editorial guidelines, purged its archives and axed news and satirical shows.

See also: Explainer: Hong Kong’s press freedom under the national security law

In 2022, Chief Executive John Lee said press freedom was “in the pocket” of Hongkongers but “nobody is above the law.” Although he has told the press to “tell a good Hong Kong story,” government departments have been reluctant to respond to story pitches.

Children of non-local talent visa holders may no longer be eligible for discounted local tuition fees at Hong Kong universities starting in 2027, according to new rules announced by the city’s university application body.

The Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS)’s announcement on Thursday formalises a government statement last July, which said authorities had introduced residency requirements to the definition of “local students” applying to tertiary institutions.

Under the new rules, students on dependent visas will only be considered local students – and hence be eligible for cheaper tuition – if they are full-time students in the city, or have resided in Hong Kong for a certain period.

The residency requirement for those applying in 2027 is one year, meaning they must have been in Hong Kong during the period of June 2026 to May 31, with a maximum of 90 days of absence allowed.

For those applying in and after 2028, the requirement will increase to two years.

Students must submit travel records from the Immigration Department when applying as proof of residency. If they are studying in Hong Kong, they must also provide proof.

The move came after concerns that children of the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) might not live in Hong Kong, but can still benefit from cheaper tuition rates instead of international school fees at public universities.

Undergraduate tuition for local students at the city’s eight public universities is HK$47,000 a year, while for international students, the fees are more than HK$200,000.

Introduced in late 2022, TTPS – which has a lower threshold than other visa programmes – has attracted overwhelmingly mainland Chinese applicants. It has been reported that many TTPS visa holders do not actually move to Hong Kong, using the scheme for purposes such as to make travel more convenient and enjoy tax benefits in the mainland.

Chris Sun, the labour and welfare minister, said in the Legislative Council last September that from 2023 to August 2025, the government issued a total of 220,000 dependent visas under various talent schemes, local media reported.