Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan today lamented the lack of proper legislations in the country to curb human trafficking - the result of which are problems associated with the flesh-trade.

"We should have a complete legislation to take action against those responsible...and a care-and-support system for victims to bring them back into society," he told reporters after addressing the National Conference on Stop Trafficking in Persons organised by rights group Tenaganita.

Musa said at present, the police relied only on Section 372 and 373 and preventive laws such as the Emergency Ordinance 1969 to nab perpetrators of such crimes.

In his address earlier, he said that between 2003 to June 2006, 163 pimps have been charged based on the two sections of the Penal Code while another 126 pimps have been placed under the Restricted Residence Act 1933.

Another 18 were detained under the Emergency Ordinance 1969, while prostitution syndicates were also investigated under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

The police chief also revealed that another 365 foreign nationals were rescued from vice operators by the police with assistance from respective embassies and NGOs between 2004 and June 2006.

Preventive detention

Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez criticised the lack of an Anti-Trafficking Act but added that the present use of preventive laws against suspected prostitution syndicate members were ineffective as only lower rung individuals were detained.

"This Act (Emergency Ordinance) is archaic. These acts never reveal the truth," said Fernandez.

She stressed that trafficking-victims forced into prostitution are the victims and they should not be criminalised.

For example, Fernandez said in 2005, 4,600 foreign women were arrested for prostitution and many of them were charged with immigration offences although they were victims of a criminal syndicate.

She also lamented that at present, there were no witness protection programmes to encourage victims of forced prostitution to testify against syndicates, nor were there prosecutions of officials in trafficking-related corruption.

"Yet it is an open secret that one key element that keeps the industry thriving is corruption and the involvement of some enforcement officers," she added.

This is Tenaganita's second such conference aimed at developing a national strategy to stop human trafficking with cooperation from the police and the Malaysian Crime Prevention Society.