KUALA LUMPUR (April 9): Two Immigration Department officers are among six individuals arrested for alleged involvement in the Temporary Employment Visit Pass (PLKS) forgery syndicate and hacking into the immigration database.
All of them, aged between 34 and 42, were picked up around the city last night.
According to a source from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the other four suspects are technical workers of a system supplier company.
“They are believed to be responsible for installing the device and software to hack into the Malaysian Immigration System (MyIMMs),” the source said.
He said the arrest of the four workers also led to the discovery and seizure of several computers installed with hacking devices and software at the Immigration Department.
The source said the MACC had also identified four hotels in the city alleged to have been used as operation centres for the syndicate’s hacking operations.
Meanwhile, MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki, when contacted, confirmed the arrest, saying that “the MACC views the hacking issue as a serious threat to national security”.
“The alleged involvement of all suspects will be thoroughly investigated,” he said.
On Tuesday, a former Immigration Department staff was arrested with four other individuals for allegedly creating a pathway for the syndicate to hack into the department’s database.
Following the arrest, the MACC also froze 147 accounts worth RM9.9 million, involving 30 individuals and 11 companies allegedly involved in the syndicate.
