KUCHING: The High Court here yesterday sentenced a farmer to two years in jail for smuggling seven Indonesians into Sarawak via Jalan Serian-Tebedu last year.
Judicial Commissioner Alexander Siew How Wai convicted Maurice Teru, 27, on his own guilty plea to a charge framed under Section 26J of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007.
If convicted, the accused is liable for a jail term of up to five years and can be fined up to RM250,000 or both.
According to the charges, the accused was charged with smuggling seven foreign migrants using a Proton Wira car by the roadside in Kampung Tangga, Jalan Serian-Tebedu around 11.15 pm on August 1, 2022.
During the proceedings, the accused, who was represented by court-appointed counsel Clarice Chan, asked for a reduced sentence as he has to support his three children who are living with his sister and also suffered from chronic asthma.
In passing the sentence, Siew ordered the accused’s sentence to run effective from the date of his arrest on Aug 1, 2022.
According to the facts of the case, a special police team from Serian district police headquarters (IPD) detained and inspected a suspicious sedan vehicle in Kampung Tangga, Jalan Serian-Tebedu.
Inspections found that the local man (accused) is believed to have smuggled seven foreign migrants into Sarawak by road.
It is understood that the accused received a payment of RM800 to smuggle the migrants into the state.
As a result of the investigation, all the migrants stated that they were brought in by an agent from their country and the vehicle driven by the accused, was waiting to bring them into Malaysia.
Based on the report of the Immigration Department, two of the migrants committed an offence under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 and were charged in the Semuja Sessions Court.
Meanwhile, five of the migrants were sent back to their country of origin.
DPP Md Syafique Md Hilmie prosecuted the case.
