KLANG: Eight individuals, including two foreign nationals, pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here on Friday (Nov 28) to trafficking 43 Indonesians for labour exploitation.
The accused are Ng Thir Ngin, 45; Ng Chun Hou, 44; Mohd Syakir Hanin Mohd Wazer, 39; Lim Wei Jian, 28; Lim Xin Jie, 30; and Ng Ser Wei, 48, while the two foreign nationals are Ismaidah, 37, and Siti Nurjanah Menah, 36.
They entered the plea after the charges against them were read out separately before judge Mohd Sabri Ismail.
Ng Thir Ngin is charged with exploiting 43 Indonesians; Ismaidah, 42; Ng Chun Hou, 35; Mohd Syakir Hanin, 19; Lim Wei Jian, 11; Lim Xin Jie and Siti Nurjanah Menah, seven each; and Ng Ser Wei, one. All 43 victims are the same individuals.
All of them are accused of trafficking victims, aged between 21 and 44, for labour exploitation, taking advantage of their vulnerability to the dangers of human trafficking.
The offence was allegedly committed in Bandar Bukit Tinggi 2, Bandar Bestari and Bandar Botanik in Klang on Oct 10 and 11.
The charges are framed under Section 12 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, which provides for a prison term of up to 20 years and a fine upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Noor Dayana Mohamed proposed bail of RM10,000 for each charge and requested that the two foreign accused surrender their passports and report to the nearest police station.
Lawyer T. Harpal Singh, representing all the accused, requested the court to consider a reduced bail amount and to impose it collectively for each of his clients.
The court granted bail totalling RM470,000 and imposed additional conditions on the two foreign nationals.
The case has been fixed for mention on Jan 16 next year.
The media previously reported that 49 Indonesian women were rescued in a raid conducted by the D3 Anti-Human Trafficking and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Division of the Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department.
All the victims reportedly suffered emotional distress and were locked up after being tricked by a syndicate that promised them jobs. – Bernama
