Underage labour uncovered: 31 youths — some as young as 14 — were found using relatives’ ICs to work in Johor.

JOHOR BAHRU, Nov 18 — Thirty-one underage youths were detained for allegedly working part-time with identity cards that did not belong to them at a box manufacturing plant in Johor Technology Park, Senai.

Putrajaya National Registration Department (NRD) Investigation and Enforcement Division director Mohammad Khairu Farhan Md Saad said the 16 boys and 15 girls had used ICs belonging to other people, including their own family members, to secure the jobs.

He said some had stopped schooling as early as age 12, while others who are still studying claimed they were working during the school holidays.

“All of them are under 18, with the youngest being just 14,” he said at a press conference yesterday.

The minors were among 117 individuals picked up during Ops Kotak, a joint operation by the NRD and Johor Immigration Department. The group also included 86 foreign nationals.

According to him, all 86 foreigners — 67 women and 19 men from Indonesia, the Philippines and several other countries — were found using fake identity documents believed to be obtained from agents in their home countries.

All detainees were taken to the NRD office at the Home Affairs Ministry Complex for further action.

The case is being investigated under Regulation 25(1)(e) of the National Registration Regulations 1990 (Amendment 2007). — Bernama