Southeast Asia migrant crisis: Malaysia says bodies found in mass graves given Islamic burial

Malaysian authorities have said dozens of bodies found in migrant camps were given proper burials in accordance with Islamic tradition.

Wrapped in white cloth, each corpse was buried in separate graves. Earlier it was thought that several bodies were buried in the same grave.

Clarifying the development, Malaysia's Deputy Home Affairs Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said: "The forensics team had determined that the bodies were not laid above each other as suspected earlier. They were all covered in white shroud and given a proper burial. Some plots were shallow and some were deep."

"Based on the size of the graves, and after the area was cleared... we have a clearer indication -- single grave, single person," he said confirming that 139 corpses were discovered.

The process to exhume the bodies is also under way.

The minister said only two police officers were detained by investigators for suspected involvement in human trafficking. Media reports speculated that 12 officers were arrested.

"Some blogs have reported that 12 police were arrested in relation to the Wang Kelian human smuggling camps. That is incorrect. It is just two police officers. I would like to reiterate that they are suspects and are being investigated."

The Malaysian finding is close to the jungle camps, which were earlier discovered in Thailand with several mass graves. The discovery of migrant graves has set off a region-wide crackdown and also escalated the Southeast Asia migrant crisis.