SEPANG: An immigration officer chided staff of the United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) for interfering in the department's work at the Sessions Court.
Kuala Lumpur enforcement chief James Musa Singa said the UNHCR staff were in the court to check on UNHCR cards of the accused before they were brought into the courtroom, thus delaying the court process.
"The organisation can interfere while the case is still under investigation or before it is brought to the Attorney-General's Chambers," Musa told The Star.
He said the department received many complaints about Myanmmar nationals making it look as if the department had not been carrying out its duties to overcome the problem.
"We are tired of being accused by the public for not doing anything," he said.
In the court, 131 Myanmmar nationals were jailed three months' each for entering the country without valid UNHCR cards.
Sessions judge Norhayati Mohamad Yunus meted out the sentence after the men, aged between 19 and 55, pleaded guilty to the charge.
The offence under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 (amended 2002) carries a fine of not more than RM10,000 or a jail term of not more than five years and whipping.
Another Myanmmar national, Maung Ko Ko Naing, and Indonesian Chin Jun Lie, both 32, were jailed four months each after they admitted to overstaying.
Four other Myanmmar nationals claimed trial saying that they have the UNHCR cards. The court later fixed July 8 for mention.
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