Married couple pleads not guilty to human trafficking charge

JOHOR BARU: A man and his wife pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here Monday (Jan 1) to a charge of trafficking an Indonesian woman.

The accused — G. David, 51, and A. Indra Ganthi, 50 — claimed trial to the charge before judge Mohammad Khalid Ab Karim.

They were jointly charged with trafficking the 60-year-old woman to be used as forced labour.

The charge, under Section 12 of the Anti-Trafficking In Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act, provides for a jail term up to 15 years and fine for those found guilty.

Deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Mohd Nasir asked for bail to be set at RM50,000 each. However, Tharamjit Singh, who represented the couple, requested for a lower bail on grounds that his clients had three children, aged 11, 15 and 19.

Mohammad Khalid then set bail at RM5,000 with one surety each and fixed Jan 21 for deposition of the case. - Bernama