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By Hamidah Atan, Sharanjit Singh and Mazlinda Mahmood
GEORGE TOWN, MALAYSIA: Another high-ranking officer of the Immigration Department has been arrested over a visa racket, as the Anti-Corruption Agency moved to stop a rot it said went "all the way to the top".
ACA director-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan said yesterday corruption in the department was so widespread that it threatened national security.
The agency, whose powers and independence were recently beefed up by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, got wind of a racket involving the issuance of visas to foreign workers two months ago.
The 54-year-old Immigration official was picked up from his office in Putrajaya about 4pm on Friday, following the arrests of several others, believed to be runners, over the past few days.
He is alleged to have accepted money for approving specially extended passes to foreign tourists.
It is learnt the official was in the Marine Department before being appointed to his post in the Immigration Department early this year.
His arrest came less than 24 hours after the arrest of a top Immigration officer at his house in Damansara on Thursday.
Also nabbed on Friday was the man's 59-year-old brother-in-law in Negri Sembilan. He is believed to be the middleman.
The two were yesterday brought before Klang magistrate Zarifah Zainal Abidin, who ordered them remanded for five days.
Sources said the ACA started investigating claims of "irregularities" involving the officer following complaints from the police.
On numerous occasions, police found many specially extended passes issued to overstayers and tourists from China.
Sources said certain individuals or runners were given "special treatment" by the officer whereby they did not have to come for interviews, which was compulsory before passes could be extended.
It is also said that overstayers who were normally slapped with summonses did not have to pay as "approvals are given verbally" to runners who represented the overstayers in exchange for a sum of money.
Sources also said the officer's modus operandi was different from the senior officer detained earlier.
It is understood that several other Immigration officials will be arrested soon.
On Friday, the ACA obtained a four-day remand order to detain a top Immigration officer for allegedly accepting bribes to issue visas to foreign workers.
He was among seven people, including two Datuks, who were arrested and remanded since Tuesday.
Cash totalling nearly RM500,000 and visas for foreign workers were seized from them.
"We were informed that something not right was going on with these visas issued to foreign workers, those wishing to extend their stays and also illegals in the country," Ahmad Said said.
"They pay bribes to Immigration officers and their contacts. ACA officers have been investigating. This involves national security and I would like to congratulate my officers for working hard on this case. We have arrested a number of people and we expect to pick up more soon."
He was speaking at Dewan Sri Pinang here after being conferred the Darjah Gemilang Pangkuan Negara, which carries the title of Datuk Seri, in conjunction with the 70th birthday of Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas.
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