Penang/Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), July 2 : Seven Indian nationals have lodged a complaint with the Indian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, accusing their employer in Penang of abusing them and failing to pay their salaries regularly for the past four years.

According to The Star, the men, aged between 20 and 28, were employed at a barbershop in Paya Terubong.

They alleged that their employer made them work 12 hours daily with only a 10-minute break for meals. They were not given any day off, except on Deepavali.

Vadivel Rajan, from Madurai, said they were hired for a monthly salary of RM1,000 and that the employer had told them their pay would be forwarded to their families every month.

He claimed his employer only paid him RM10 daily as food allowance.

According to him, the employer withheld the workers' salaries for five months to renew their working permits, but had not done so.

He claimed that their employer would hit them whenever they asked him about their salaries or work permits.

Vadivel said they decided to run away after finding out that their permits had not been renewed for the past two years.

They saved the money from their food allowance to travel to Kuala Lumpur to file their complaint and also to make a police report at the Sentul police station. (ANI)