Wang Kelian - 130 Who Died Requires Prompt Prosecutions to Ensure Justice be Done -RCI Report’s Delay in Disclosure Unacceptable and Raises Questions-(MADPET)(Malaysiakini)

Wang Kelian: Still no justice after five years, 130 deaths

Charles Hector

Published: 11:53 am

 

COMMENT| Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) is disappointed at the government’s lack of transparency concerning the findings and decisions of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the Wang Kelian tragedy, where at least 130 persons died. 

The victims allegedly were from the ethnic Rohingya community of Myanmar and Bangladesh. The full RCI report must be made public immediately.

In March 2015, illegal immigrants' transit camps and 147 mass graves were discovered in Wang Kelian, Perlis. All in all, the skeletal remains of about 130 people were found.

Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin last month had said the RCI report on the Wang Kelian human trafficking incident will be submitted to the cabinet next week.

 

Since then, based on media reports, there has been "silence" on the part of the minister and the government.

The RCI was set up with the consent of Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Jan 29, last year. In June, it was reported that "… the final report and recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the discovery of transit camps and mass graves in Wang Kelian will be presented to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah in early September…". 

According to media reports, the RCI’s 17-day inquiry did hear the evidence of 48 witnesses since April 17. 

Madpet believes the RCI report, once completed, should be made public and sent speedily to the cabinet and government for immediate action, including the prosecution of those who committed the crimes or tampered with evidence.

RCI reports in the past usually have been made public, and this raises the question of why this RCI report has yet to reach public domain.

We recall the disturbing findings following an "… exhaustive, two-year investigation by the New Straits Times Special Probes Team into the mass killings in Wang Kelian in 2015 that shook the world, has revealed startling new evidence, which suggests a massive, coordinated cover-up… One of the biggest revelations was that the human trafficking death camps had been discovered months earlier, but police only announced the discovery on May 25… (New Straits Times). 

Another huge question mark was why did the police order the destruction of these camps, which were potential crime scenes before they could be processed by forensics personnel?

One shocking discovery was that the authorities, particularly the Perlis police, knew the existence of these jungle camps in Wang Kelian in January 2015, but had allegedly chosen not to do anything about them until six months later.

According to the NST report, "A report lodged by one of the police’s own, identified as ASP JK on Jan 19, 2015, at 10.15pm, among others, stated that the raiding team saw six cages, where scores of men and women were packed inside under the watchful eyes of foreign men armed with M-16 rifles. The gunmen also conducted roving patrols around the campsite. The team moved in about 4.30pm that day and detained 38 human trafficking victims (22 Bangladeshis and 16 Myanmar nationals. 

According to the official after-action report, an estimated 150 people, who were caged up earlier, had escaped into the jungle during the raid."

How the men and women managed to “escape” the assault team remains unknown.

The report also identified a local, suffering from vitiligo — who had been acting as the middleman. Eleven more locals, whose role was to “deliver the goods”, were also identified.

The report on the Bukit Wang Burma raid stated that the local middleman, who had been detained, had admitted to "greasing the palms" of personnel in border security agencies to ensure that his operation could continue unmolested. 

“Many of these agencies are highly involved in human trafficking, and this is a serious trans-border crime that cannot be eliminated by arresting illegal immigrants and deporting them," the document stated. 

“For as long as the authorities are working hand-in-glove with these syndicates, eradicating this problem will be an uphill battle.” 

The NST Special Probes Team was let in on a March discovery of another camp in Bukit Genting Perah, known as one of the largest human trafficking camps in Wang Kelian.

This startling find was revealed by a team of highly-trained men, including commandos, who were involved in a snatch-and-grab mission.

"One by one, the commandos would grab and quickly overpower their targets, and then slip stealthily back into the cover of darkness. With all five foreign men in custody, the team regrouped and made their way down the hill."

The Wang Kelian issue also raised corruption concerns, which may involve persons tasked with enforcing the law.

What happened to the suspects who were arrested? What happened to the 38 human trafficking victims’ rescued? Why was there not a speedy trial, more so since many of these suspects were caught red-handed and the witnesses were available?

The previous BN government seems to have failed in ensuring justice be done.

The new Pakatan Harapan government, after coming into power, did act by setting up the RCI but delay in making public the final RCI report raises concern and questions.

Madpet urges a speedy investigation and prosecution of all suspects involved in crimes, among others, murder, kidnapping, human trafficking, torture, corruption, abetment, concealing design to commit an offence and tampering with evidence, would have been best – more so since it involved foreign victims. 

This should have been done speedily by the public prosecutor, police and relevant enforcement agencies. As time passes, witnesses’ memory fade and contact with some may also be lost.

No one, including public officers or politicians, should be above the law. Crime does not have any limitation, and all those persons suspected could still be charged.

There is a concern as to what happened to all the arrested suspects and all potential victim-witnesses, including those released from the cages.

The use of detention without trial laws is not only unjust but also can be a means where the truth could be hidden from the public, especially if it involves "powerful" persons and highly-ranked officials. 

Only a public trial will suffice.

Whenever the police or other enforcement agencies are involved, as is happening now in the alleged "enforced disappearance" cases of Pastor Koh and Amri Che Mat where police officers were implicated, will this be the position adopted by this new Harapan government? 

At the very least, the public prosecutor could have made a statement on the status of the investigation, even if it was a statement that no one could be charged at the moment due to insufficient evidence. 

This would appease us, knowing that Wang Kelian has not been forgotten.

Wang Kelian happened in 2015, and the new government came into power in mid-2018, which is about 20 months ago.

Madpet urges immediate publication of the RCI report. Transparency and accountability demand this. There must be no further delays or cover-ups.

We urge the public prosecutor, the police, MACC and other relevant agencies to take swift action.

Madpet also calls on the attorney-general to explain the status of the investigation and prosecution of those suspected of crimes related to the Wang Kelian case, as there is no need to wait for any RCI report or cabinet direction when it comes to enforcing the law and ensuring justice is served.

Laws should be amended to provide for the cost, including travel and board, to bring back foreign victims/witnesses, if needed, to trials of persons accused of crimes that happened in Wang Kelian. 

Non-availability of witnesses because of no "financial allocation" should never be a justification for not prosecuting perpetrators of crime.- Malaysiakini, 14/2/2020

See FULL Media Statement below

Media Statement – 14/2/2020

Wang Kelian - 130 Who Died Requires Prompt Prosecutions to Ensure Justice be Done

-RCI Report’s Delay in Disclosure Unacceptable and Raises Questions-

MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture) is disappointed at the Malaysian government’s lack of transparency with regard the findings and decisions of the Royal Commission of Inquiry(RCI) into the Wang Kelian tragedy, where at least 130 persons died, whereby the victims allegedly included persons of ethnic Rohingya community of Myanmar and Bangladesh. The full RCI report must be made public immediately.

In March 2015, illegal immigrants' transit camps and 147 mass graves were discovered in Wang Kelian, Perlis.  All in all, the skeletal remains of about 130 people were found.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the Malaysian Home Minister, last month on 16/1/2020 was reported saying that the RCI report  on the Wang Kelian human trafficking incident  will be submitted to the Cabinet next week.(New Straits Times, 16/1/2020). Since then, based on media reports, there has been ‘silence’ on the part of the Minister and the government.

The RCI was set up with the consent of Yang di-Pertuan Agong(King) on Jan 29, 2019. In June 2019, it was reported that ‘…The final report and recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the discovery of transit camps and mass graves in Wang Kelian, Perlis, will be presented to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah in early September…’. The RCI’s 17-day inquiry did hear the evidence of 48 witnesses since April 17.(Bernama Report -New Straits Times, 18/6/2020)

MADPET wonders why so long a time has passed since the submission of the report to the King in September. That report, we believe, should have sent to the government at the same time, for, if not, it raises the question as to why there was a delay in it arriving to the Minister and the Cabinet. Surely, it is not the Cabinet that decides whether there will be investigation, prosecution and/or trial of alleged perpetrators of crime.

The RCI report, once completed, should have been made public, and sent speedily to the Cabinet and government for immediate action, including the prosecution of those who committed the crimes or tampered with the evidence.

RCI reports in the past have always been mostly been made public, and this raises the question why this RCI report has yet to be made public.

We recall the disturbing findings following an ‘…exhaustive, two-year investigation by the New Straits Times Special Probes Team into the mass killings in Wang Kelian in 2015 that shook the world, has revealed startling new evidence, which suggests a massive, coordinated cover-up…. One of the biggest revelations was that the human trafficking death camps had been discovered months earlier, but police only announced the discovery on May 25…’(New Straits Times, 20/12/2017)

‘…Another huge question mark was why did police order the destruction of these camps, which were potential crime scenes, before they could be processed by forensics personnel?...’

‘…One shocking discovery was that the authorities, particularly the Perlis police, knew the existence of these jungle camps in Wang Kelian in early January 2015, but had allegedly chosen not to do anything about them until half a year later….’

According to the NST report, ‘…A report lodged by one of the police’s own, identified as ASP J.K. on Jan 19, 2015, at 10.15pm, amongst others, stated ‘… The raiding team saw six cages, where scores of men and women were packed inside under the watchful eyes of foreign men armed with M-16 rifles. The gunmen also conducted roving patrols around the campsite. The team moved in about 4.30pm that day and detained 38 human trafficking victims (22 Bangladeshis and 16 Myanmar).According to the official after-action report, an estimated 150 individuals, who were caged up earlier, had “escaped into the jungle” during the raid. How the men and women managed to “escape” the assault team remains unknown…’

‘…The report also identified a local, suffering from vitiligo — who had been acting as the middleman. Eleven more locals, whose role was to “deliver the goods”, were also identified…’

‘…The report on the Bukit Wang Burma raid stated that the local middleman, who had been taken into custody, had admitted to greasing the palms of personnel in border security agencies to ensure that his operation could continue unmolested. “Many of these agencies are highly involved in human trafficking, and this is a serious trans-border crime that cannot be eliminated by arresting illegal immigrants and deporting them. “For as long as there are authorities working hand-in-glove with these syndicates, eradicating this problem will be an uphill battle,” the document stated…’

The NST Special Probes Team was let in on a March discovery of another camp in Bukit Genting Perah, now known as one of the largest human trafficking camps in the hills here. This startling find was revealed by a team of highly-trained men, including commandos, who were involved in a snatch-and-grab mission… One by one, the commandos would grab and quickly overpower their targets, and then slip stealthily back into the cover of darkness. With all five foreign men in custody, the team regrouped and made their way down the hill….’

The Wang Kelian issue raises also concerns about corruption, which may involve persons tasked with enforcing the law.

What happened to the suspects who were arrested? What happened to the ’38 human trafficking victims’ rescued?  Why was there not a speedy trial, more so since many of these suspects were caught red-handed and the witnesses were available?

The previous Barisan Nasional seems to have failed in ensuring justice be done.

The new Pakatan Harapan government, after coming into power, did act by setting up the Royal Commission of Inquiry but thereafter procrastination and delay in making public the final RCI report raises concern and questions.

MADPET believes that a speedy investigation and prosecution of all suspects involved in crimes, amongst others, murder, kidnapping, human trafficking, torture, corruption, abetment, concealing a design to commit an offence and tampering with evidence, would have been best – more so since it involved foreign victims. This should have been done speedily by the Public Prosecutor, police and relevant enforcement agencies. As time passes, witnesses’ memory fade, and contact with some may also be lost.

No one, including public officers or politicians, should be above the law. Crime does not have any limitation, and all those persons suspected could still be charged now.

There is a concern as to what happened to all the arrested suspects and all potential victim witnesses, included those released from the ‘cages’.

The use of detention without trial laws is not only unjust, but also can be means where the truth could be hidden from the public, especially of the involvement of ‘powerful’ persons and highly ranked officials. Only a public fair trial will suffice.

MADPET wonders whether the lack of speedy investigation and prosecution in Malaysia when the police or other enforcement agencies are involved, as is happening now in the ‘enforced disappearance’ cases of Pastor Koh and Amri Che Mat where police officers were implicated, is the position adopted by this new Pakatan Harapan Malaysian government. At the very least, the Public Prosecutor could have made a statement on the status of investigations, even if it was a statement that no one could be charged at the moment due to insufficiency of evidence. This would appease us, knowing that Wang Kelian has not been forgotten.

Wang Kelian happened in 2015, and the new government came into power in mid-2018, which is about 20 months ago.

MADPET urges immediate publication of the Royal Commission of Inquiry report for transparency and accountability demands this. There must be no further delays or ‘cover-ups’;

MADPET urges the Public Prosecutor, police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and other relevant agencies to speedily take action;

MADPET also calls on the Attorney General, who is also the Public Prosecutor, to explain the status of investigation and prosecution of those suspected of crimes related to the Wang Kelian case, as there is no need to wait for any RCI report or Cabinet direction when it comes to enforcing the law and ensuring justice be done;

MADPET also urges that the laws be amended to provide for the cost, including travel and board, to bring back foreign victims/witnesses, if needed, to trials of persons accused of crimes that happened in Wang Kelian.  Non-availability of witnesses by reason of no ‘financial allocation’ should never be a justification for not prosecuting perpetrators of crime;

MADPET is against detention without trial, and urge for speedy fair trial in open court. All Detention without Trial laws must be abolished; and

MADPET applauds the investigative journalism by the New Straits Times Special Probes Team, and hope that more journalist and media agencies will engage in such good practices and expose alleged wrongdoings and injustices that may otherwise be not known to the people, or be subject to maybe ‘a massive, coordinated cover-up’.

Charles Hector

For and on behalf of MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture)

****

[EXCLUSIVE] The secrets of Wang Kelian exposed 

By Farrah Naz Karim And Aliza Shah - December 20, 2017 @ 7:07am

KUALA LUMPUR: An exhaustive, two-year investigation by the New Straits Times Special Probes Team into the mass killings in Wang Kelian in 2015 that shook the world, has revealed startling new evidence, which suggests a massive, coordinated cover-up.

One of the biggest revelations was that the human trafficking death camps had been discovered months earlier, but police only announced the discovery on May 25.

Another huge question mark was why did police order the destruction of these camps, which were potential crime scenes, before they could be processed by forensics personnel?

The in-depth investigation was sparked by a number of burning, unanswered questions that dogged the team, among them, why had the initial discovery of these death camps been kept hush-hush; and who gave the order to sanitise and destroy the crime scene; and, why.

In the hunt for the truth, the team pored over scores of official documents and reams of reports. The team checked and re-checked the facts, sought corroborative witnesses and verified facts through multiple, independent sources — all to build an airtight case.

During the course of this investigation, the team traced and interviewed countless personalities who were directly involved in what had been, and still is, the most horrific case of human trafficking, torture and mass killings to have occurred on our soil.

These sessions also took the team back to the crime scene where evidence of the victims’ torture and suffering, including empty graves, were all around us.

The three-hour hike to the campsites took longer than it should as we were warned of syndicate members who could still be lurking. Communications were strictly in hushed tones.

All told, more than 150 remains of foreigners, believed to be human trafficking victims, had been exhumed from shallow, unmarked graves in Wang Kelian.

Refusing to be a part of what they described as a “systematic cover-up”, our sources opened up on what had really transpired in the dense, unforgiving jungles of Perlis — contradicting the “official version” of events.

The evidence secured by the team supported their story. The sources, including those who were directly involved in the case, had come into the open and claimed that there had been some “serious redacting” in reports and papers filed in the course of investigations.

One shocking discovery was that the authorities, particularly the Perlis police, knew the existence of these jungle camps in Wang Kelian in early January 2015, but had allegedly chosen not to do anything about them until half a year later.

Police, at a press conference announcing the “discovery”, were not ambiguous when they said that they believed the camps were only vacated three weeks prior.

We will never know how many innocent lives could have been saved if they had acted earlier.

The raiding team with foreign men in custody at the camp where the first mass graves were found.

Malaysian authorities, following the discovery of human trafficking camps and mass graves by the Thais on May 1, 2015, checked our side of the border and discovered, on May 24, 139 graves, together with some two dozen similar-looking squalid camps.

‘FIRST CONTACT’ — THE ‘REAL’ VERSION

A report lodged by one of the police’s own, identified as ASP J.K. on Jan 19, 2015, at 10.15pm, stated that two General Operations Force (GOF) men had, during “a routine patrol” at a “dumpsite” somewhere in middle of the jungle of Wang Kelian State Park, had “stumbled on an observation post” on a tree. They probed further and made a second discovery — a trail leading into the Mata Ayer forest reserve.

They called for backup and were joined by a 30-man raiding team. They followed the trail to the top of Bukit Wang Burma.

There, before them, was a 30mx30m campsite. That was the first time a human trafficking racket operating in the Nakawan Range was discovered.

The raiding team saw six cages, where scores of men and women were packed inside under the watchful eyes of foreign men armed with M-16 rifles. The gunmen also conducted roving patrols around the campsite.

The team moved in about 4.30pm that day and detained 38 human trafficking victims (22 Bangladeshis and 16 Myanmar).

According to the official after-action report, an estimated 150 individuals, who were caged up earlier, had “escaped into the jungle” during the raid.

How the men and women managed to “escape” the assault team remains unknown. The armed syndicate members also miraculously joined their captives “and escaped into the jungle”.

According to the report, the camp had been operating for at least six months. The federal police had, on May 25, said some of the 28 camps that had been discovered under Op Wawasan Khas, launched on May 11, had been operating since 2013.

The GOF raiding team’s tactical procedures and protocols were not made clear in the report. The normal practice would be to first establish a cordon sanitaire around the camp periphery to prevent “squirters” from escaping.

Those rounded up were immediately brought down to the Padang Besar police headquarters for processing at 9.30pm.

The next day, the officer who led the assault team met the state deputy police chief.

An order to destroy the crime scene was issued, and the team returned to the site the next day to carry out the instructions.

It was during this mission that the men discovered the first 30 graves.

Jan 19, 2015 was when the Wang Kelian tragedy and the mass graves were discovered; not on May 25, as we were led to believe.

These men later filed an exhaustive report. They said syndicates in Thailand and Malaysia were believed to be working closely in running a lucrative, illicit business virtually unmolested, and fuelled by demand for illegal labour from as far away as Pahang and Johor.

The report also identified a local, suffering from vitiligo — who had been acting as the middleman. Eleven more locals, whose role was to “deliver the goods”, were also identified.

The discovery of foam was an indication that the jungles were inhabited, and this triggered the alarm on the existence of human trafficking camps.

THE CONTRADICTING REPORT

Meanwhile, an independent report from another police team poked holes in the one presented at the meeting with the state’s second-in-command. It also contradicted the police report lodged by ASP J.K.

The new report suggested that the officer in question never dispatched 30 men as claimed, but only eight.

During the operation, the eight-man team was split into two. One was led by the GOF trooper who first suspected that something was amiss, and the other by an officer specially sent in for the mission. They took different routes to the camp, according to the report.

However, the assault team led by the officer never reached the scene. As the other team laid low, waiting, they heard one of the camp guards shouting, “Run! the police are here!”

It was between three and five minutes later that the other team with the officer showed up. The officer had allegedly given an order to pull back.

The report also revealed that the officer who did the briefing on the raid had concealed the fact that the graves were found on that very day, and not as they were destroying the crime scene.

“In fact, the campsite was not fully destroyed. It was very minimal. Only the tents and a portion of the guard posts were burned.”

THE OTHER SHOCKING FIND

The NST Special Probes Team was let in on a March discovery of another camp in Bukit Genting Perah, now known as one of the largest human trafficking camps in the hills here.

This startling find was revealed by a team of highly-trained men, including commandos, who were involved in a snatch-and-grab mission.

The orders that were cut for this secret mission stemmed from the deafening silence that followed the first discovery of the death camps.

Taking position in the dark of night, the small team waited and shadowed their adversaries — the camp guards — waiting for the right moment to pounce.

One by one, the commandos would grab and quickly overpower their targets, and then slip stealthily back into the cover of darkness.

With all five foreign men in custody, the team regrouped and made their way down the hill. The trek back to home base took three hours. Halfway down the challenging terrain, with the suspects in tow, members of the strike team heard gunshots coming from the camp.

This was the first human remains to be discovered near the camp in Wang Kelian.

 

“We knew immediately that the syndicate members had realised that their men were missing, and that their operation had probably been discovered,” a source with direct knowledge revealed.

News of this discovery and the arrest of the five men during the covert ops by the commandos from Perlis was never made public.

The status of the five suspects remains unknown, although the NST Special Probes Team was made to understand that many of them could have been merely charged with immigration offences.

It is also not known if a follow-up raid was ever made.

The report on the Bukit Wang Burma raid stated that the local middleman, who had been taken into custody, had admitted to greasing the palms of personnel in border security agencies to ensure that his operation could continue unmolested.

“Many of these agencies are highly involved in human trafficking, and this is a serious trans-border crime that cannot be eliminated by arresting illegal immigrants and deporting them.

“For as long as there are authorities working hand-in-glove with these syndicates, eradicating this problem will be an uphill battle,” the document stated.

For the record, the document was carbon-copied to the state police chief and his deputy, the state National Security Council, the Perlis and Kedah Border Intelligence Unit and the head of the Third Battalion of the GOF, among others.

The NST Special Probes Team had, on one occasion, cornered the Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim to reveal to him what we knew about the case, and if he had any explanation. He listened to every word, but refused to comment. We were stonewalled.

Trying a different tack, the team sent a number of text messages to the then inspector-general of police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar. They, too, went unanswered.

Finally, the team managed to track Khalid down at an event at a bowling alley in the capital, and asked him about Wang Kelian.

After listening to us, Khalid finally relented and agreed to talk, but on one condition — that the conversation not be recorded. His ADC made sure of it.

The team had a number of burning questions, not least of which was why had the discovery of the death camps been kept a secret. What was the overwhelming justification in allowing the slaughter of scores of innocents, including women and children, to continue unabated?

Khalid was visibly apprehensive when confronted with these questions. It took a while before he finally spoke.

And when he did, his voice betrayed the enormity of what he was about to tell us.

The NST Special Probes Team is bound by journalistic ethics in honouring the condition Khalid imposed, which was not to publish what he had told us. - New Straits Times, 20/12/2017

Wang Kelian: Sources keen to unload secrets

A row of graves at the Wang Kelian human trafficking camp, which the raiding party first found.

By Farrah Naz Karim And Aliza Shah - December 20, 2017 @ 7:03am

KUALA LUMPUR: “Do you want to know what really happened in Wang Kelian?”

The voice at the other end of the line spoke in a hushed tone, but the timbre betrayed the deep sense of helplessness.

It took a while to process every lurid detail that came pouring out. It almost didn’t make sense.

The New Straits Times Special Probes Team spent the next two years digging up the darkest, deepest secrets that had long been buried in the quiet hills of Wang Kelian.

Various sources with direct involvement and knowledge of this crime against humanity, which saw more than 150 innocent lives snuffed out, came forward with the real stories.

Their stories matched — right down to the minutest of details.

Their willingness to open up was a desperate act of clearing their conscience.

It was a burden of guilt. Of knowing. A burden they refused to carry to their graves.

Their version of what transpired will likely be disputed. But there is always the right of reply that the team is more than willing to take up.

They spoke about a time in early January 2015, when several personnel with the General Operations Force (GOF) manning the border, noticed something that seemed out of place in an area that was supposed to be uninhabited.

Having noticed the presence of foam, the smell of detergent and waste flowing downstream where they clean up after a patrol, they alerted their superior of their observations.

 
They were told not to worry about it. They figured a more attentive pair of ears would probably be more interested to hear them out, and shared their concerns with other cops.

On Jan 19, an operation was mounted at 11.45am, in connection with the Wang Burma case.

About five hours later, they came down the hill with 38 paperless migrants.

One would assume that a massive sweep of Wang Kelian would be launched to ascertain if there were more human trafficking camps. It is only fair to think that.

So, it is hard to explain why it was only on March 13 that an assault team was brought in, in the middle of the night, on a seek-and-capture mission — at a totally different site in Bukit Genting Perah.

This camp has since been known as one of the biggest human trafficking base camps up in the Nakawan range bordering Thailand. The assault team had been carrying out a sustained surveillance of the area. The tell-tale signs were easy to spot. Where no signs of life were expected, they saw a light trail.

They knew it was the path the victims took to freedom — after they had paid the syndicates, of course. This is the same trail that the authorities, who were later sent in to process the camp, widened to allow a massive clean-up and bring down some of the remains they found in more than 139 graves.

To cut a long story short, the NST Special Probes Team was told that the special strike team hauled in five men believed to be members of a human trafficking syndicate (In an operation carried out on Aug 12, VAT69 commandos and the Perlis Special Branch discovered 20 graves and 24 remains from another camp not far from the ones earlier discovered. Only 18 of the graves had human remains in them, while six skeletons were found inside huts made of bamboo and wood.)

Our team took the trail up to Bukit Genting Perah.

Halfway the two-hour hike up the steep and slippery hill, we stopped to document and photograph a line of now-empty graves.

As the camps began to come into view, we saw an observation post at the entrance. They were facing Malaysia. Not one was built facing the Thai side. There were many more unmarked graves surrounding the camp site.

One could only imagine the suffering hundreds of migrants went through on our soil.

Nothing will be learned about the ordeal suffered by those who died as none of their identities had been established to date. Many of their loved ones back home will be left wondering if they ever made it alive, to a better life.

Authorities on the Thai side had made arrests, including the mayor of Padang Besar.

The Thais also issued around 30 arrest warrants and transferred out 38 senior police, Immigration and marine police officers suspected of having knowledge of the crime, or were involved in it. - New Straits Times, 20/12/2017

Wang Kelian secrets: What we want answers to

By Farrah Naz Karim And Aliza Shah - December 20, 2017 @ 7:00am

KUALA LUMPUR: HERE are some hard questions that need to be answered, which would hopefully clear any nagging suspicions that there was a cover-up in the case of Wang Kelian.

WHY was the discovery of the camps in Bukit Wang Burma on Jan 19 and Bukit Genting Perah on March 13, kept secret?

WHERE is ASP J.K. now? He was the one who led the Jan 19 raid and briefed his superiors about it the next day.

WHY did Perlis police issue the order to destroy the camp a day after the General Operations Force (GOF) reported the discovery? Who issued the order?

Wouldn’t this be construed as tampering with evidence/crime scene?

HOW did the Perlis top cop, who was then close to retirement, or his deputy, react when the discovery of the massive human trafficking camp and mass graves was brought to their attention?

WHY was the camp not immediately cordoned off and the remains exhumed?

WHAT happened to the 38 migrants taken into custody by the assault team? Aren’t they prime witnesses?

WHY were they investigated for immigration offences? Were they not prime witnesses?

WHAT was the tactical approach taken by the elite police force on the Jan 19 raid, which had allowed all the syndicate members and most of the migrants held in several camps, to evade arrest?

FOLLOWING the discovery of the camp in Bukit Wang Burma, why did the GOF not sweep the whole area to see if there were other camps?

WHY are there different accounts of what had happened in the Jan 19 raid in Wang Burma?

SOME locals who were part of the syndicate had been identified. Have they been picked up?

HAVE the police officers suspected of being in cahoots with the syndicates been dealt with under the law, or are they being “disciplined” internally?

THERE were at least two Thai-Malaysia border committee meetings after the Jan 19 raid. Were the discoveries not discussed?

IS there no truth in our expose? Or was Bukit Aman kept in the dark over the discovery of the camp when it said on May 25 that police did not find the camps before May.

WHY were 300 VAT69 commandos sent on a mission on May 11 to locate and verify the existence of these camps under Op Wawasan Khas, when there is already photographic evidence of the Jan 19 raid?

DID Perlis police know that after their Jan 19 raid, the camps were still operating?

In the May 25 press conference, the authorities confirmed that the sites were only vacated three weeks before.

AND the final question — will those behind this heinous crime against humanity be made to pay, and will the men, women and children who died trying to get a second chance at life, ever get the justice owed to them? - New Straits Times, 20/12/2017

RCI report on Wang Kelian to be presented to Cabinet next week

This file pic dated July 27, 2015 shows one of the human trafficking camp found in Bukit Genting Perah, Wang Kelian. -NSTP/Eizairi Shamsudin

By Hashini Kavishtri Kannan

January 16, 2020 @ 1:52pm

PUTRAJAYA: The Home Ministry will present a report by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the Wang Kelian human trafficking incident to the Cabinet next week.

In saying this, its minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the commission which concluded their inquiry over the matter, had also presented the report to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.

"The RCI has completed their report and it has already been presented to the Agong.

"The ministry will present the report to the Cabinet next week and if the Cabinet agrees, we will allow the report to be made public," he said after attending the ministry's monthly assembly today.

The RCI was set up to look into the March 2015 discovery of illegal immigrants' transit camps and 147 mass graves in Wang Kelian.

All in, the skeletal remains of 130 people, believed to be victims of a human trafficking syndicate, were found buried in the hills of Wang Kelian, Perlis.

The tragedy which involved victims from the ethnic Rohingya community of Myanmar and Bangladesh attracted the attention of the international community.

The RCI panel is led by former chief justice Tun Ariffin Zakaria, with former inspector-general of police Tan Sri Norian Mai as deputy.

Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin mingles with staff after the ministry’s monthly gathering in Putrajaya. -NSTP/Ahmad Irham Mohd Noor.

Meanwhile on the special taskforce to probe the alleged "enforced disappearance" of Pastor Raymond Koh and activist Amri Che Mat, a time extension had been requested to conclude the report and submit it to the ministry.
"I was informed that they need slightly more time. I think they requested for a month or so. The chairman of the committee had requested the ministry to allow this and we agreed.

"I hope after the one month extension, they will be able to finish the draft of the report to be submitted to the ministry," he added.

Muhyiddin announced the establishment of the special task force and its six-member team, led by former High Court judge Datuk Abd Rahim Uda in June last year.

This was after Suhakam concluded in its findings that Bukit Aman’s Special Branch was likely behind the disappearances of Koh and Amri.

In 2016, Amri, the co-founder of the Perlis Hope non-governmental organisation (NGO), went out in his vehicle from his home in Kangar, Perlis at about 11.30pm. His vehicle was later found at a construction site in the early hours of the following day.

Koh went missing in 2017 after he was abducted by a group of men while on his way to a friend’s house in Petaling Jaya. - New Straits Times, 16/1/2020

Report on Wang Kelian RCI to be presented to Agong in September

RCI chairman Tun Arifin Zakaria said the commission had two months to prepare the report. --fotoBERNAMA (2019) HAK CIPTA TERPELIHARA

By Nor Ain Mohamed Radhi - June 18, 2019 @ 5:07pm

PUTRAJAYA: The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to probe into the human trafficking and mass graves in Wang Kelian was concluded today, and the report is expected to be presented before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah in September.

RCI chairman Tun Arifin Zakaria said the commission had two months to prepare the report.

“This RCI is one of the methods to prepare our report; by gathering information from witnesses who had the knowledge of what actually happened at Wang Kelian.

“After today, the commission will have meetings in order to prepare the report, which will be presented to the King in early September InsyaAllah,” he told reporters after the 17th session today.

Arifin said generally, he was satisfied with the information furnished to the commission.

“We, more or less have exhausted whatever (means) available. (But) of course, if possible we want to get information from witnesses from Thailand. However, we did not get cooperation from Thailand (authorities).

“So, it’s quite difficult and furthermore, we do not have the power to summon them (the witnesses from Thailand),” he said.

Asked on possibility for any new witnesses to be called in, Arifin replied: “No, but generally I am satisfied with whatever information that has been furnished to us.

“The police have tried their level best to assist us.”

He said the commission would also include some recommendations in the report to the government.

“Based on the information that we have gathered, we will give some recommendations for improvement particularly on border control and cooperation with Thailand.”

Asked whether the report will be made public, Arifin said it’s up to the government.

“That’s not our prerogative. Based on the terms of reference, RCI was established to prepare a report to be submitted to the government.”

Meanwhile, former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai, who is the RCI deputy chairman, did not rule out the possibility for the police to reopen its investigation into Wang Kelian.

“However, it depends on the findings after discussion with the commission members.

“If there is a need for it (to reopen the investigation), I believe the RCI will recommend as such.”

When asked on his thought of the police force in handling the issue after 17 days of RCI proceedings, Norian said: “I believe, for the time being, it is best for me not to comment on that (as I’m) afraid that it (opinion) will be different from RCI findings. So, I reserve my comment on that,” he said.

The RCI first commenced on Apr 17, with a total of 48 witnesses were called to testify.

The other members of the RCI are former chief prosecutor Datuk Noorbahri Baharuddin, former Suhakam chief commissioner Tan Sri Razali Ismail, former head of research at the Attorney-General’s Chambers Datuk Junaidah Abdul Rahman, former ambassador to Thailand Datuk Nazirah Hussin and former Public Accounts Committee deputy chairman Dr Tan Seng Giaw.

The RCI was set up to look into the March 2015 discovery of illegal immigrants, transit camps and 147 mass graves in Wang Kelian.

The skeletal remains of 130 people, believed to be victims of a human trafficking syndicate, were found buried in the hills of Wang Kelian.

The tragedy which involved victims from the ethnic Rohingya community of Myanmar and Bangladesh attracted the attention of the international community. - New Straits Times, 18/6/2019