13 Foreigners Held In Pre-National Day Raid
By Lyna Mohammad & MK Anwar

Bandar Seri Begawan - Thirteen foreigners, including two women, were rounded up and remanded at the Bandar Police Station after they failed to produce relevant documents to law enforcers from the Brunei District Police, Immigration and Internal Security departments during a raid last Monday evening.

The operation codenarned “Ops Benteras Bersepadu", which was conducted by about 120 enforcement personnel and lasted until the early hours yesterday morning, was initiated by the Bandar Police District headed by the Officer Commanding Police District (OCPD) ahead of the National Day celebrations.

The raiding party, which was divided into two groups, targeted rented houses in Kg Ujong Tanjong, Kg Sg Kedayan `A' and `B', Bukit Salat, Sumbiling and Ujong Bukit in the capital before heading to the last target area - 20 rented houses in Kg Kianggeh.

Despite numerous raids by law enforcement authorities, a number of the houses are still being rented out to foreigners by the houseowners, who are locals and had been advised to either have their family stay in the houses or demolish the houses it is against the law for the houses in the area to be rented out. The low rent and location in the capital have attracted foreigners to rent the houses. In some cases, immigration offenders have been found renting the houses, while some abandoned houses have been used by irresponsible people to carry out negative activities or as a hideout.

Besides the 13 foreigners who were released yesterday after relevant documents were produced to the immigration enforcement officers, except for a Filipino woman, a number of special passes were also issued to some foreigners who are required to report back to the enforcement office for - further screening.

The 32-year-old Filipino woman, who rented a house in Kg Kianggeh, was found to have re-entered Brunei after she was ordered to leave the country as a prohibited immigrant after she was caught by the immigration enforcement officers at the same house last year.

During the raid, the woman, working as a maid, was caught with a member of uniformed body and believed to be involved in immoral activities which resulted in the cancellation of her work pass and order for her to be sent back to the Philippines.

She is scheduled for repatriation to Zamboanga, Philippines today. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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