LANGKAWI: The marine police here have nabbed 30 Rohingya refugees who entered Malaysian waters, according to Kedah police.
State police chief Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad said Langkawi marine police made the arrest yesterday about 1.6 nautical miles from Pulau Lima, where a boat carrying 30 Rohingya refugees was found.
“One of the Rohingya refugees said they had no intention of entering Malaysian waters, but were forced to do so since their boat ran out of fuel,” Berita Harian quoted Wan Hassan as saying.
The 30 refugees comprised 17 men, nine women and four children.
He said none of the refugees spoke English or Malay.
He said orders have been issued to ramp up border security to curb the possible entry of Rohingya refugees into the country.