Syrian national Hassan Al-Kontar, who claimed to have been living at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 since March, was arrested by the police yesterday.

Immigration director-general Mustafar Ali confirmed the arrest, saying that his department would take over the case after the police completed their investigation.

He said the department would work with the Syrian Embassy to facilitate the man’s deportation or exit from Malaysia.

“The man was arrested yesterday for being in the restricted zone of the airport without a boarding pass.

“We will solve this issue soon with the Syrian Embassy. This case needs closure as it has embarrassed the nation,” he said at a press conference after launching the new version of the Malaysian visa and pass in Putrajaya today.

Mustafar said Hassan, who had taken to social media to make a series of statements on Malaysia since March, did not want to return to Syria for fear of being forced into the military.

“Whatever his reason, we will not compromise and will make sure this case is closed with the man sent out of the country,” he added.

Mustafar said Hassan had attempted to enter Cambodia after the visit pass issued by Malaysia expired, but was refused entry and returned to Malaysia.

According to news reports, Hassan, 36, claimed to have been staying in KLIA2 since March 7 this year for fear that he would be arrested and then deported to his home country.

Since then, he had been posting video blogs on Twitter and Facebook about his daily life to attract the attention of international human rights groups and media, he added.

In another development, Mustafar said the arrest of six Immigration Department officers by the MACC for alleged involvement in corruption was also assisted by his department's intelligence team.

He said he agreed to take on the joint action with MACC after detecting some of his officers abusing their power and positions.

He added that they are thorns in the flesh that are ruining the image of the Immigration Department.

Last Saturday, the officials and two women were remanded for four days to assist MACC investigations for allegedly abetting syndicates to facilitate blacklisted individuals in entering and leaving the country.

- Bernama