A Bangladeshi boy who was found inside a container at a wharf at Westports in Port Klang has said he was playing when he fell asleep inside the container, according to Malaysian media reports, bdnews24.com reports.
A worker found the boy, believed to be from Chattogram, in a weak state at the wharf on Tuesday, Free Malaysia Today reported, citing Klang Selatan district police chief Cha Hoong Fong.
The boy was sent to Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang and reported to be in stable condition, he said in a statement on Friday.
Cha said an investigation found that the MV Integra had left Chattogram on Jan 12 and arrived at Westports on Tuesday.
He said the boy told authorities he was playing in a container with friends but found himself locked inside.
The case has been referred to the immigration department to send him home using the same cargo ship.
Malaysia's Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that there was no evidence to suggest the involvement of human trafficking syndicates, according to the Malay Mail.
“We do not draw conclusions on aspects of human trafficking anymore because the initial investigations revealed that the boy had entered inside the container, then fell asleep and later arrived here,” Saifuddin was quoted as saying.
When the ship reached the outer area of Port Klang, the crew heard a human voice coming from inside the container, SM Faisal, an assistant manager of Continental Traders (BD) Limited, a Bangladeshi agent of the ship, told http://bdnews24.com.
The empty container was taken to Chattogram port from the depot of Nemsan Container Limited in Chattogram and then to the ship, said Faisal.
The Reliance Shipping-owned depot is located in the North Sonaichhari area of Kumira in Sitakunda upazila.
Omor Faruk, secretary at Chattogram Port Authority, told http://bdnews24.com that the container was from the Nemsan depot, but the boy’s claims cannot be confirmed without investigation.
"We have not been informed about this yet from Port Klang in Malaysia. We will start an investigation when informed.”
