T Ragu, a 29-year old Indian national from Trichy started working as a waiter in Ipoh less than a year ago with hopes of helping to ease his family's financial burden in Tamil Nadu.

He little expected his time at the Spice Gate Restaurant in Bandar Sri Klebang would involve gruelling 19-hour shifts as well as torture and abuse at the hands of his employer

Ragu's eight other compatriots working at the restaurant also claimed to be similarly mistreated.

indian restaurant workers allege abuse group 02 05102009 This morning, all nine of them (left ) were at the Indian High Commission to highlight their plight. They made their escape at 2.45am by thumbing a lift from a good Samaritan.

"Most of us have not been paid in the last one to four months," said Ragu who claimed that they were promised salaries ranging from RM900 to a RM1,000 each.

"When we enquired about the non-payment of our salaries, we were beaten up by men hired by the restaurant owner," he claimed.

Ragu said that they had to work daily from 7am to 2am with only a half an hour break in between.

Final straw

The last straw for the workers was when their employer threatened them with physical harm if they refused to sign an agreement consenting to an extension of their contracts.

In addition, Ragu claimed the employer was also holding their passports. All they had on them were their Malaysian immigration passes which allowed them travel.

Among the abuses one of them had to endure, claimed Ragu ( below ), was being woken up in the middle of the night and made to run out into the streets while being followed by thugs on motorcycles.

indian restaurant worker allege abuse t ragu 05102009 Spice Gate Restaurant owner, P Ramesh rubbished the allegations made by the Indian nationals saying that he hired them in hopes of running a good business.

He refuted their their claims of abuse and non payment of salaries.

"I have been in operation for the past nine months and I've had to endure monthly losses of up to RM20,000 inclusive of salaries for these nine," said Ramesh.

Asked about allegations that he is withholding their passports, Ramesh said he had them with him only for renewal purposes.

"Their actions have forced me to close my business down as of today as I'm left without any workers," added Ramesh.