SEREMBAN: The Sessions Court here fixed April 17 for the next mention of the case of a 51-year-old man charged with forcing a family of five to work in an oil palm plantation.
Judge Surita Budin made the ruling after defence counsel M. Gobinathan said his team had yet to receive a reply from the Attorney General's chambers to review the charges.
When the case last came up for mention on Feb 13, Gobinathan said the defence would be filing a representation to the AG regarding the matter.
On Jan 10, Jaya Seelen had claimed trial to five charges of human trafficking for labour exploitation when charged at the same court.
He had allegedly forced couple S. Veerasamy, 46; and A. Rajeswarii, 39; their daughters Anbarasi, 22; and Shasikala, 19; and son-in-law P. Aridasan, 30; to perform forced labour to pay off their debts.
Jaya Seelen, who was a supervisor at Ladang Bukit Tinggi Rompin in Jempol, had allegedly committed the offences between 2008 and Nov 11, 2021.
He was charged under Section 12 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act which carries a jail term of up to 15 years upon conviction.
The accused has since been out on a RM25,000 bail.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Goh Hsiao Tung prosecuted.
