On April 7, a cacophony of South Asian dialects resonated through the corridors of a workers’ hostel in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, gradually fading as stranded workers poured out of the building and into an adjacent open warehouse.

One man did not join them.

On that day, Rinji Rai, 47, a Nepali labour recruiter who had flown to Kuala Lumpur three days before to address the unresolved work visa issue of his recruits, was found dead in the hostel toilet.

Malaysian authorities have ruled out foul play, but Rinji’s widow, Indrasuwa Rai, 46, and the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agency believe he died of mysterious circumstances and want the case to be investigated as murder.

“There is a gang of people who sell demand quotas by showing...