GENTING HIGHLANDS (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The arrest of a foreign maid agent for dumping the body of a baby has led to the discovery of a syndicate that has been holding foreign maids who were forced to work without any pay and were also sexually abused.

The man, in his 40s, has allegedly been sexually abusing at least 29 maids working for him and also withholding their salaries.

All did not have work permits.

He allegedly hires out the women to employers on a part-time basis as maids and cleaners and some of these employers are also said to have sexually abused them.

Selangor police chief Senior Deputy Comm Datuk Abdul Samah Mat said police were initially alerted about the case on May 31 after a 33-year-old Indonesian woman, who claimed to be working for the agent for two years, lodged a police report that her six-month-old baby had died and could not be found.

"She also alleged that the baby was conceived after she was raped by one of her employers last year."

The baby was born on Nov 21 last year.

"When the employer found out she was pregnant, he sent her back to the agent and she was forced to work for several other employers during her pregnancy," he said on Wednesday.

Police raided three houses in Kota Kemuning on Monday and detained 12 Indonesian women.

He said the 12 women and the complainant, in their 20s and 30s, had all overstayed and did not have work permits.

"The women claimed that they were not paid and subjected to sexual abuse by the agent and the other employers that they had been hired out to," he said.

SDCP Abdul Samah said police raided another house in Kota Kemuning on Tuesday and arrested the agent's wife to help with investigations.

"The suspect subsequently turned himself in at the Shah Alam police headquarters on Tuesday night," he said.

SDCP Abdul Samah said the complainant gave birth to the baby boy on Nov 21 last year and her colleagues took care of the baby while she was hired out to work.

"On May 31, when she came back to the house where she was allegedly forced to live with the other foreign women, one of them told her that her baby had died and was taken by the agent.

"She tried contacting the agent but he could not be reached.

"She then lodged a police report," he said.

"On Wednesday morning, the suspect led a team of police to Genting Highlands where he confessed to dumping the baby's body," he said, adding that they managed to locate the decomposed body of the infant there.

He said the suspect claimed he had panicked when he found out about the dead baby and dumped it.

"He has been remanded for a week to help in investigations.

"The case has been classified as murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code," he said, adding that the body of the infant has been taken to Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah for a post-mortem.