Bangladeshi expats abused in Brunei mission
The Bangladesh High Commission in Brunei has landed in hot water after a video depicting an expatriate being beaten up inside the mission surfaced on social media.
A video of the incident which took place on Aug 21 went viral after being published on Facebook.
bdnews24.com has since received two more videos of Bangladeshi migrants being physically abused in the mission last year.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told bdnews24.com that he has also been apprised of the incidents. “I have sent those (videos) to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare to look into.”
“It’s a crime. It’s not right,” he said, when asked about the incident.
Enhancing bilateral ties with Brunei has been a point of emphasis for the government with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visiting the South East Asian country in April this year. The countries have signed six MoUs in the fields of agriculture, art and culture, youth and sports, fisheries, livestock and energy.
A large number of Bangladeshis are also working in Brunei. The country has the capacity to invest in different sectors in Bangladesh, the foreign minister had earlier said.
But the Bangladesh mission is totally run by non-career diplomats. None of the officers have any background in foreign service.
Retired Air Vice Marshal Mahmud Hussain is the high commissioner to Brunei. “How do you know they (those who were beating) were mission staffer,” he told bdnews24.com, when asked about the matter before hanging up the phone.
bdnews24.com tried to contact him for the last two days, but he did not take the calls.
In the latest viral video, a person is seen standing beside the chair of a mission official when a group of five or six people approach him and take turns to beat him up.
bdnews24.com has also seen an internal letter of the mission written by the head of the chancery, Mainul Hasan, to the High Commissioner calling for an investigation.
According to the letter, the official who was sitting by as the unsavoury event unfolded is Abdullah Al Rashid, an administrative officer.
He works under First Secretary Jilal Hossain, both of whom were sent from the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare. Rashid could not be reached for comment.
The incident took place between 10am and 11am on Aug 21, according to the letter. The head of the chancery affirmed the veracity of the video after watching the CCTV footage of the incident.
The letter indicated that the altercation stemmed from a dispute between workers and agents.
But one Nurul Islam Dablu, who posted the video facebook, asked if it was ever justified for a government employee to organise such a beating inside the office? He advised taking legal action against the assailants.
Another wrote that the incident taints the image of the mission. The video has been shared by more than 7,700 Facebook users so far.
