A 28-year-old restaurant worker and his 28-year-old wife were detained for entering the country without proper documents. -NSTP/SHARIFAH MAHSINAH ABDULLAH
A 28-year-old restaurant worker and his 28-year-old wife were detained for entering the country without proper documents. -NSTP/SHARIFAH MAHSINAH ABDULLAH

KOTA BARU: It was a double mishap for a Myanmar couple when they were arrested twice by the Malaysian authorities for entering the country illegally.

Soe (not his real name) was at his workplace in Ipoh, Perak, when he was caught by the police yesterday morning.

The 28-year-old restaurant worker was detained for entering the country without proper documents.

Today, Soe and his 28-year-old wife, only known as So and about five months pregnant, decided to return to their hometown in Arakan, Myanmar, by crossing Sungai Golok to Thailand.

"Today and yesterday were not our lucky day. Yesterday, l was caught by the police, and today, my wife and I have been detained by the immigration authorities."

"Last night, we took a bus from Ipoh to Kelantan and arrived in Kota Baru town this morning with my wife, who is pregnant with our first baby.

"We have been married for three years, and this was our first time returning home as l wanted to show my wife to my parents.

"But luck is not on our side," he said when we met here.

The couple is among hundreds of foreigners caught by the Kelantan authorities today in a special operation.