Three labourers from Hyderabad return home after being ‘tortured’ in Malaysia

HYDERABAD: Three persons from a family in Asif Nagar, Hyderabad who were compelled to escape from a steel manufacturing firm in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia after allegedly facing alleged threats and inhuman treatment from their employer returned home on Sunday. They were repatriated with the help of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Shaik Ahmad Ibrahim, his brother Shaik Mohammad Belal and cousin Mohammad Ali allege that they were cheated by an Amberpet-based agent Syed Shoeb Ahmed who had extracted `50,000 each from them to arrange their visa to Malaysia.

They say that they were promised a salary equal to `25,000 per month and free food and accommodation. However, when they reached Malaysia in December, they were provided a room without any furnishing and were asked to pay its rent on their own. “We were received by one Prakash Subramaniam who forced us to do tough labour on  a daily basis. We were not provided with any facilities. We escaped to Kuala Lumpur High Commission as we feared for our safety,” said Ibrahim.

Ibrahim’s father, who had suffered worse atrocities and lost his fingers while working on a machine in Saudi Arabia, said that he had sent his children to Malaysia thinking they will bring some income to family. However, he said, to their family’s horror they had to shell off a hefty amount from their pocket instead.

The returnees share that though they were able to return on time, six more persons from Telangana who were also cheated by Shoeb and faced the same plight in Malaysia are still stranded there in miserable conditions.  The six expatriates Anees Ahmed Khan, Syed Akber, Asgar Hussain, Mohammed Ilyas, Akter Ahmed and Muther Ahmed had approached Sushma Swaraj for help on Saturday. Interestingly, one of the victims Asagar is the brother-in-law of agent Shoeb.

When Shoeb was contacted, he said that the allegations against him are false and he is not even an agent but someone who had helped his brother-in-law to find companions from his own state to join him in Malaysia.