MANJUNG: Four Indonesian men were charged at the Sessions Court over two separate cases of smuggling 102 Indonesian migrants and two Vietnamese nationals last month.
The accused, boat skipper Adi Warman, 36, along with Gading, 31, and Rafiernanda, 19, his assistants, nodded in understanding after the charges were read out before Judge Azizah Ahmad on Monday (Sept 14).
They are accused of having jointly smuggled 64 Indonesian migrants, comprising 39 men and 25 women, off Pulau Talang, about 0.3 nautical miles from the island in the Manjung district, around 4.30am on Aug 18.
In the same court, another boat assistant, Yunus Saputra, 30, nodded in understanding after he was charged with a similar offence of smuggling 40 migrants, comprising 38 Indonesians and two Vietnamese nationals, last month.
He is accused of smuggling the 28 men and 12 women near Pantai Hutan Kuari Sungai Batu in Manjung at about 8 am on the same date.
However, no plea was recorded from any of the accused, as the offence falls under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
All charges were brought under Section 26A of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (Act 670), read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a fine, or both, upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Anisah Pisol, appearing for the prosecution, did not offer bail as the offence is non-bailable under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA).
The accused were unrepresented, and the court set Oct 27 for the next case mention. – Bernama
