During a visit to two single-storey and three-room houses at Desa Rasah in the Malaysian city of Seremban by the newspaper's correspondent and members of Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia, the workers were found confined and looking for help desperately.

Eight workers claimed that they were caged in a house for 23 days, according to a report of The Malay Mail Online published yesterday.

Anamul Haque, 29, one of the workers, said they did not know their employer's name adding that they only met some people working for the employer.

"We thought we were going to work in factories, but when we arrived, we were told that there was no work and that some of us were medically unfit. We have been locked up here since then," said Anamul, who claimed to be a teacher.

He said a local woman used to come three times a day with food. She used to push the food through the gaps in the grille.

"The food was never enough and we're always hungry. Though some of us sometimes felt unwell they didn't give us any medicine," he said adding that there were up to 90 men in the house.

In another house, seven workers claimed they had been confined for 10 days.

Residents in the area however told Weekend Mail that the Bangladeshis had been held for months, The Malay Mail Online reported.

An employee of the employer said the locked up workers were not fit to work and some were not interested to work.

"So, we are planning to send them back to Bangladesh," he said claiming that they were forced to keep the workers locked up as they were constantly disturbing residents in the neighbourhood.

Supt Ahmad Mahmud, a police of Serembam, said they are investigating the matter.

The report also quoted Talat Mahmud Khan, labour councillor at Bangladesh High Commission, as saying that he was upset when Weekend Mail informed him about the caged workers.

"We don't have the power to rescue the workers. All we can do is to alert the authorities. At times, the employer might not be cooperative."

Enforcement Director of Malaysian Immigration Department Datuk Ishak Mohamed said, "The workers could have been cheated by rogue agents" adding that he needs more information to ascertain if the workers were legal or not.