'Forced labour' in Malaysian Sony, Samsung, Intel factories

KUALA LUMPUR - Nearly a third of some 350,000 workers in Malaysia's electronics industry - a crucial link in the international consumer supply chain - suffer from conditions of modern-day slavery such as debt bondage, according to a study funded by the US Department of Labor.

The survey by Verite, an international labour rights group, found that abuse of workers' rights - particularly the tens of thousands from low-wage countries like Nepal, Myanmar and Indonesia - was rife in a $75 billion sector that is a mainstay of the Southeast Asian country's export-driven economy.

Several US, European, Japanese and South Korean multinationals have operations in Malaysia, including Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Sony Corp, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, and Bosch Ltd.