He said he has already identified the profile of the children, their numbers and where they were detained.

“Very soon, I will bring them out. I have been dealing with NGOs that are involved in providing welfare services to children,” he told reporters last night.

The human rights commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) had recently expressed concern about the welfare of 36 children housed at the Lenggeng depot. The children were among 67 Indonesian migrants rounded up in a raid on an illegal settlement in Nilai Spring on Feb 1.

Speaking of a Bangladeshi child who was found in a container at Westport in Port Klang last month, Saifuddin said the child would be sent home next week.

The eight-year-old from Chittagong, Bangladesh, had accidentally wandered into a container and was locked inside for six days before being spotted by Malaysian authorities. He was taken to hospital and is currently under the care of an NGO.

Saifuddin said the ministry had managed to locate the child’s family “and I have informed my counterpart in Bangladesh that the kid will be sent back. All the documentation process at the embassy has also been done”.