Mohammad Quamrul Islam, the state minister for expatriate welfare and overseas employment, distributed a compensation cheque among the relatives at a simple function at the Bureau of Manpower Export and Training (BMET). The compensation money was paid for by the foreign employers of the expatriate workers.

The families of five expatriate Bangladeshis killed last year by a member of the Saudi royal family were also compensated yesterday, each receiving Tk 22.43 lakh.

The minister noted during the ceremony that since taking power three years ago the four party alliance government has distributed a total of Tk 39 crore among the relatives of workers killed abroad.

He said the government also makes every effort to return home expatriate Bangladeshis who become stranded anywhere in the world due to visa problems. He also informed the family members of the victims in the Saudi tragedy that the individual responsible for the criminal act was taken into custody by the Saudi authorities and put on trial.

Secretary in charge of the expatriate welfare ministry Dalil Uddin Mondal, secretary general of Bangladesh Association of International recruiting agencies (BAIRA) Ali Haider Chowdhury and director general of BMET, S M Wahiduzzman also spoke on the occasion.