MALAYSIANS are being duped by illegal labour recruitment agents in Singapore who lure them to the city-state with false promises of lucrative jobs, a report said.

The Star newspaper said the victims, who claimed they were abused and subjected to appalling working conditions, were mostly labourers from Sabah and Sarawak state on Malaysia's side of Borneo island.

Many were unable to return home as the agents hold on to their passports as collateral until their "bonds" of up to 7000 ringgit (US$2000) have been paid off, it said.

After discovering that their jobs were far different to those promised, with poor pay and long working hours, some said they tried to ecape by crossing the Malacca Strait which separates Singapore and Malaysia.

The Star said that, faced with an alarming increase in reports of exploitation, the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore had since January been investigating the cases of some 184 Malaysians who claimed they were duped.

Labour Department director-general Ismail Abdul Rahim said no legal action had been taken against bogus agencies so far due to lack of evidence.

"We are shocked that despite so much publicity in the newspapers, Malaysians continue to fall victim to such scams," he told The Star.

"The scams are becoming more sophisticated. Now they target people from the villages, using their friends to talk them into going to Singapore."

Johor police chief deputy commissioner Hussin Ismail told the victims to lodge reports so that police can work with their Singaporean counterparts to nab the agents.

Many Malaysians, especially in the southern state of Johor, flock to the city-state to seek employment and the prospect of better wages.

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