JOHOR BAHRU: A mother-son duo, together with an Indonesian woman were charged in the Magistrate’s Court here today, with two counts of trafficking two women for sexual exploitation, last month.

Lu Yon Moi, 65, her son, Tin Chee Keng, 42, and Nurul Hasanah, 26, an Indonesian national, nodded in understanding when the charges were read before Magistrate A Shaarmini. No plea was recorded.

On the first charge, the three of them are jointly charged with trafficking a 25-year-old Indonesian woman for sexual exploitation through deception.

They are alleged to have committed the act in Kampung Baru Masai, near Pasir Gudang, between March 17 and 20 at about 9 pm.

The three of them were also accused of committing the same act with a 29-year-old local woman, at a massage parlour in the Seri Alam area, here, between March 14 and 19 at about 3 pm.

The charges are framed under Section 12 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which provides a maximum imprisonment not exceeding 20 years and a fine upon conviction.

Deputy public prosecutor R Kodesviary applied for bail set at RM30,000 each. However, the three accused, represented by lawyer Baharudin Baharim, appealed for minimum bail.

The court then set bail at RM20,000 each, in two sureties, for Lu and Tin, while Nurul Hasanah was allowed bail at RM30,000, in two sureties.

They were also ordered to surrender their passports to the court, and May 8 was set for mention.