KUCHING: A teenage Indonesian was fined RM10,000 in default of one week’s jail by the Magistrate’s Court here today for involvement in operating an online gambling machine using a smartphone in a hut in Kampung Rampangi.
The 16-year-old male accused pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 4B(a) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953, read before Magistrate Syarifah Fatimah Azura Wan Ali.
According to the charge, he committed the offence in a hut in Kampung Rampangi at around 3.20 pm on June 7.
If convicted, he could be fined not less than RM10,000 and not exceeding RM100,000 for each gambling machine and could face a maximum imprisonment of five years.
Zubaidah ordered the accused to be referred to the Malaysian Immigration Department for further action after serving the sentence or paying the fine.
According to the facts of the case, last Wednesday (June 7), a police team conducted an operation known as Operation Dadu in a hut in the said village due to suspected illegal online gambling activities.
During the raid, a teenage male foreign national believed to be operating an online gambling machine using a Realme brand smartphone was arrested.
Seized items included a smartphone unit and RM50 in cash.
Furthermore, a report from gambling experts confirmed that the smartphone used by the accused was a gambling machine.
The prosecution was conducted by Inspector Merylene Lindan Andrew Mang, while the accused was unrepresented by a counsel.
