Five men including a local charged with trafficking in 46 illegals

TELUK INTAN: A local man and four Indonesians were charged in the Sessions Court, here, today with being involved in the trafficking of 46 illegal immigrants.
The accused, S. Krishna Rao, 27, and the foreigners, Supratman, 35, Irwansyah Putra, 27, Jumardi, 24, and Muhammad Rizky Pasaribu, 25, nodded to indicate they understood the charge read out to them, but no plea was recorded from them.
Judge Norita Mohd Ardani then fixed July 14 for case mention while waiting for the application for the case to be transferred to the Ipoh High Court.
According to the facts of the case, all the accused had smuggled in the Indonesian illegals, about 6 am at the Bagan Lipas sluice gate, Bagan Datoh, between June 7 and 9, this year.
They were charged under Section 26A of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Persons Act 2007 and read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
If convicted, they face a jail term not exceeding 15 years or a fine, or both.
DPP Muhamad Suffian Jaafar appeared for the prosecution while all the accused were unrepresented. — Bernama