Mass grave of suspected human trafficking victims found in Malaysia

(Baonghean.vn) - Mass graves believed to contain the bodies of hundreds of migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh have been found in Malaysia, the country's media reported today (May 24).

According to Utusan Malaysia, police discovered 30 large graves containing the remains of hundreds of people at two locations in the northern state of Perlis, bordering Thailand.

Another online newspaper also reported that nearly 100 bodies were found in a grave on May 22.

A Malaysian police spokesman declined to comment, saying a press conference on the matter would be held next Monday.

Security and rescue forces inspect a mass grave discovered in Songkhla province, Thailand on May 7. Photo: Reuters

An unnamed police official said police commandos and forensic experts from the capital Kuala Lumpur were at the site but it was not yet clear how many graves and bodies had been found.

The official also added that there was no information on whether the bodies were members of the Rohingya Muslim minority from Myanmar.

Northern Malaysia lies on a route used by smugglers to bring people from Myanmar to Southeast Asia by boat. Most of them are Rohingya, fleeing persecution, and people from Bangladesh crossing the border in search of work.

Traffickers have also exploited Thailand's restive southern region, and Utusan Malaysia said police believe the discovery is linked to mass graves found across the border in Thailand this month.

Twenty-six bodies have been removed from a grave in Thailand's Songkhla province, adjacent to Perlis, near a camp suspected of being linked to human trafficking.

More than 3,000 migrants, mostly from Myanmar and Bangladesh, have landed in Malaysia and Indonesia this month following a crackdown on human trafficking in Thailand.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak pledged help on May 21 and ordered the country's navy to rescue thousands of people adrift at sea.

Thu Giang

(According to Reuters)