Twelve Cambodian workers who had been detained in Malaysia since September were repatriated on Thursday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

They had been arrested for not having passports and jailed at the Semenyih and Selangor detention centres in Malaysia. Their ages ranged from 18 to 31 years old, according to the ministry’s release.

All of the workers – seven men and five women – were working for a factory that makes gloves, though its name wasn’t disclosed. The workers had been in Malaysia since earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Neang Sovath, coordinator for Adhoc in Tbong Khmum province, said yesterday that there are an additional seven workers from Tbong Khmum still in Malaysia, and their family members had asked Adhoc for help.

Officials from both governments earlier this month announced that three more categories of workers were going to be added to a December agreement to send domestic workers to Malaysia. The agreement lifted a 2011 ban instituted amid reports of several abuses among migrant workers.