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There has been a sharp increase in the number of cases of marriage of convenience using forged papers, and the Home Ministry suspects syndicates are bringing in "foreign brides" for vice.
Deputy Home Minister Tan chai Ho said in the past two months, immigration officers had picked up many foreign brides in nightspots and found that their "marriages" to local men were just a ploy to get to stay in Malaysia to work.
He said acting on tip-offs, immigration officers raided nightstpots in Penang and Seremban and found that there were more than 10 such cases.
He said the Ministry is investigating and does not rule out the likelihood that syndicates are controlling these foreign brides, who are mostly from the Philippines, Vietnam, China and Thailand.
He said foreign brides picked up during raids conducted by the Immigration Department produced certificates to prove that they are legally married to locals, but on investigation, it was found that they do not stay with their "husbands." "When enforcement officers questioned their 'husbands', the latter invariably said their 'wives' happened to be at the nightspots to look up friends.
"Unfortunately, all the foreign brides picked up wore revealing clothes and did not look like they were at the entertainment outlets to look for friendsÉ not at the dead of the night," said Tan.
Tan said the recent cases of marriage of convenience have one thing in common - the brides used forged documents to register their marriages in Malaysia.
Tan said the Government will deport these women immediately once it confirms the women have used forged documents to register their marriage.
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