Malaysian police kept mass graves, human trafficking camps on Thai border secret for months, inquiry hears

Public inquiry is examining the conduct of law enforcement agencies during the discovery of almost 150 graves and dozens of camps near the Thai border in 2015

While the graves and camps were made public in May that year, a police official said they had found them in January

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Soldiers stand guard as officials dig out skeletons from shallow graves at an abandoned jungle camp in Thailand's southern Songkhla province bordering Malaysia. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:27am, 19 Apr 2019Updated: 10:58am, 19 Apr 2019

A Malaysian inquiry into the 2015 discovery of suspected human trafficking camps and graves in the jungle has heard that police found one of the sites months before authorities publicly revealed their existence.

The public inquiry, which began this week, is examining the conduct of law enforcement agencies with regard to the discovery of almost 150 graves and dozens of camps near the Thai border.

Malaysian authorities announced in May 2015 they had uncovered the sites in the north of the country, about a month after neighbouring Thailand said it had found bodies of Rohingya from Myanmar and Bangladeshis at a makeshift camp over the border.

The discovery prompted Thai authorities to crack down on traditional sea routes for illegal migrants coming to the country, triggering a crisis as people smugglers dumped hundreds of refugees off the coasts of other countries and fled.

Human remains are retrieved from a mass grave at an abandoned camp in a jungle some three hundred meters from the border with Malaysia, in Thailand's southern Songkhla province May 2, 2015. Photo: Reuters

On Thursday the Malaysian inquiry heard from Mr Joeking, a senior police official charged with guarding the border in part of northern Malaysia, who said authorities found a camp in January 2015.

Malaysian police kept mass graves, human trafficking camps on Thai border secret for months, inquiry hears

Public inquiry is examining the conduct of law enforcement agencies during the discovery of almost 150 graves and dozens of camps near the Thai border in 2015 While the graves and camps were made public in May that year, a police official said they had found them in January

Public inquiry is examining the conduct of law enforcement agencies during the discovery of almost 150 graves and dozens of camps near the Thai border in 2015

While the graves and camps were made public in May that year, a police official said they had found them in January