MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur cancelled the accreditation of the placement agency responsible for the deployment of six Filipina domestic workers who were reportedly victims of abuse and human trafficking.

The six Filipinas, along with 95 Indonesians and four Cambodians, were rescued by Malaysian immigration police in a raid on a building in Bandar Baru Klang in Selangor last December 1.

The women were allegedly locked up and forced to work without pay. They were also fed only twice a day, authorities said.

“To better protect our nationals, the Philippine Embassy has cancelled the license of the agency involved in the maltreatment of 105 foreign workers, including the six Filipinas. What the agency has done is a violation of human rights and is an egregious infraction of the terms of its accreditation,” Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya said in a statement.

After the rescue, Malaysian authorities placed the women in a shelter under interim protection order as authorities secure their statements and investigate the case.
 
Twelve people connected with the Agensi Pekerjaan Sentosa Sdn Bhd have been arrested and are now in police custody.

Five of the 12 people arrested are Indonesians. Three others are Cambodians and one of them is a Filipina.

In June 2009, the Indonesian government imposed a ban on sending maids to Malaysia over numerous reports of women being abused by their employers or recruiters.

Cambodia also banned the deployment of domestic workers to Malaysia in October 2011.
 
In September this year, the embassy issued a moratorium on the accreditation of new agencies wishing to deploy domestic workers from the Philippines.