Boat with 202 suspected Rohingyas intercepted

Kuala Lumpur, April 5

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Malaysian authorities said on Sunday they had intercepted a boat ferrying a group of 202 persons believed to be ethnic Rohingya.

Malaysia, which does not recognise refugee status, is a favoured destination for ethnic Rohingya fleeing a military-led crackdown in Myanmar and squalid conditions at refugee camps in Bangladesh.

The boat was found adrift around one nautical mile from a luxury beachside resort on the holiday island of Langkawi, off the west coast of the Malaysian peninsula, the Malaysian maritime enforcement agency said.

The group included 152 men, 45 women and 5 children. All 202 have been detained at the coastguard’s Kedah state headquarters. The group will be handed over to immigration authorities for attempting to enter the country illegally, the coastguard said.

The agency said it would also investigate complaints from the migrants about three alleged members of a migrant smuggling

syndicate who escaped from the boat while out at sea. —Reuters