KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Twelve individuals, including six Malaysian Immigration Department officers, have been remanded to assist in investigations into the hacking of the Malaysian Immigration System (MyIMMs) to issue illegal Temporary Employment Visit Passes (PLKS).
The remand order was issued by Magistrate Ezrene Zakariah at the Putrajaya Magistrate's Court today following an application by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Five suspects were remanded for three days starting today, while seven others were remanded for two days.
The remanded individuals include four Immigration enforcement officers, two department IT division officers, two company directors, three foreign nationals, and a police officer, all aged between their 30s and 40s.
All suspects were arrested separately between 2pm and 5pm yesterday at the MACC headquarters and Penang Immigration offices, following a joint operation involving both agencies since May.
MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Abd Halim Aman said their initial investigations revealed that the syndicate had approved 1,306 fake PLKS using 2011 quotas without paying any pass levy, causing an estimated loss of RM2.4 million to the government.
"Initial investigations also revealed that the syndicate paid bribes ranging between RM1,000 and RM6,000 for each PLKS application to the involved immigration officers in return for approving the applications without following established procedures," he said in a statement today.
The operation in the Klang Valley and Penang was assisted by CyberSecurity Malaysia, Telekom Malaysia, and MACC's Technology Forensics Division, with searches conducted at company premises and Immigration offices in Penang and Putrajaya.
During the operation, the MACC seized movable assets, including cash amounting to RM186,360, SG$700, jewellery worth RM15,700, and various electronic devices, including mobile phones and laptops, estimated at RM36,000.
Halim added that the case is being investigated under Section 16(a) and Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009.
