One of these leaders, Maria, 38, from Madura in Central Java, Indonesia, recently admitted that she can earn over RM100 a day depending on a beggar’s collection.
“There are no fixed working hours. We usually move around with other ‘leaders’ to escort the blind beggars around to ‘sell’ tissue packets,” said Maria when questioned by the police after her arrest in an operation codenamed Op Pintas Bersepadu (Pengemis) here recently..
“From my earnings, I can remit RM300 to my family back in the village as well as pay RM450 for my house rent,”
A Bernama report today revealed that begging activities, especially in Kuala Lumpur and Shah Alam, did not involve syndicates but were done “voluntarily” as it was an easy source of income.
Even though Maria tried to be evasive when being interrogated, she finally said she entered the country on a maid’s permit in 2018 before becoming a “leader” for blind beggars, such as a man named Mustaqim, since 2019.
She admitted that she used “black magic” to get him to marry her. Though they are now divorced, Mustaqim is still her main source of income (through begging activities).
She is being detained under the Immigration Act 1959/63 for overstaying in the country.
According to a police source, Maria would meet Mustaqim and friends at a restaurant in Brickfields to plan their work activities.
“Based on intelligence, these beggars will work according to shifts starting at 9am. They get a break before calling it a day at midnight,” said the source, adding that each shift was believed to involve seven visually impaired beggars and seven “leaders”.
At the end of their day, they regroup at the restaurant to count their takings and split the earnings equally among them.
Maria’s route included the restaurant that was strategically located to the main road and public transport such as the monorail. This made it easier for her to organise her operations.
Taxi drivers also cooperated with her by sending the beggars and their “leaders” to the designated locations in the city.
According to the police, their activities also extended out of the city including to Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, for a more lucrative income.
“It is believed that these beggars are not part of a syndicate. There is no compulsion to join and the PwDs worked voluntarily as beggars.
“From the investigation, it is believed Maria uses black magic on the PwDs to get their cooperation to work with her. Further investigations are ongoing,” the source said.
Meanwhile, Mustaqim, 56, who was also arrested admitted he joined the begging activities voluntarily as he could earn RM2,000 a month.
The father of four who lives in Damansara said every morning he would go to Brickfields to meet Maria (to liaise on their begging activities) and considered the job of selling tissues as his main source of livelihood.
The four-day integrated operation, which started on Feb 9, is aimed at ridding begging activities in the city which is a cause of public concern and has also given the country a bad image.