An Indonesian construction worker has claimed that he was shot and wounded by the police under circumstances that have yet to be established, during an apparent raid to flush out undocumented migrants in Rawang.

Nus Arte, 25, of Flores in Nusa Tenggara Timur, has been warded at the Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) since July 21. He is expected to undergo surgery as he also fell and broke his leg during the incident.

He told malaysiakini at the hospital yesterday that the raid took place in Bandar Tasik Puteri Rawang on July 13. There was no police presence in the ward.

"I panicked when polis hutan (from the general operation force or GOF) arrived to carry out a search at about 11.30am. I started to run away because I don't have legal documents," he said.

"I was running and heard a few gun shots. When I was shot in the left thigh, I fell and broke my leg," he said, but could not recall if the police had issued any warning first.

Nus said he was then staying at a squatter settlement with about 60 other Indonesian workers, but that the majority of them have valid papers.

Malaysia, is home to hundreds of thousands of foreign workers, mainly Indonesians. Raids are routinely carried out against undocumented migrants under a strict immigration law.

When contacted, Selangor Immigration enforcement officer Logeswari Subramaniam said the department had not conducted any operation in Rawang that day, adding that the sole raid was in Batu Caves.

Police officials in the GOF and at the Rawang police station declined to comment.

Statement recorded

Nus said he continued working in Malaysia illegally for seven months after his work permit expired. Prior to that he had held a valid document for three years.

"I was asked by an agent to pay RM2,000 to renew my permit after it expired but I was cheated, so I had to continue working here illegally," he said.

After he was shot, he said he had been taken by the authorities to an oil palm estate nearby. He was placed under the surveillance of seven police, but was not handcuffed or blindfolded.

"They released me three hours later. A friend took me to a clinic for treatment, but when the injury became worse, I was admitted to HKL by my friends a few days later," he said.

At the hospital, the police then recorded a statement from him twice, while an Indonesian Embassy official also visited him.

Nus was uncertain as to why the police had released him after the raid, although they had identified him as an illegal worker.

"I don't know what will happen next, I am just waiting to undergo the operation (to insert a steel plate in his leg)," he added.

Orthopaedist Dr Mohd Asri Abd Ghapar told malaysiakini that HKL had informed the police to seek "medical legal intervention" into the case. This is common procedure in such cases as suspected child abuse.

The doctor declined to comment on Nus' case, citing patient confidentiality, beyond confirming that a leg injury was being treated.

Protest note

Meanwhile, Syartuni @ Tong of the Indonesian Embassy's labour department said the mission has paid for the cost of the operation.

"The hospital contacted me about the cost of the operation... I visited him on Monday," he said when contacted.

On the shooting, Syartuni said the embassy is looking into the case.

"It is quite hard for us to investigate because Nus has told me that he did not see who shot him and that he would not be able to identify the person concerned," he said.

Non-governmental organisation Migrant Care country co-ordinator Alex Ong has appealed to the Malaysian authorities to avoid the use of firearms in future as this could result in injury or death.

He said he has informed the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) about the incident.

In a related development, the Indonesian government said it would send a protest note to the Malaysian authorities on the case.

"We want (such raids) to be conducted in a proper way (by the Malaysian authorities) without using weapons," Indonesian Human Resources and Transmigration Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea was quoted as saying in a Bernama report yesterday.