Two plead not guilty to trafficking

SEREMBAN: Two Indian nationals were charged in the Seremban sessions court today for trafficking five of their countrymen last month.
The accused, Balan Raju, 40 and Chirra Usharani, 35, from Taman Bukit Delima, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read to them in Tamil before Judge Junaidah Mohd Isa.
According to the charge, they were charged with trafficking in five women, aged between 28 and 42 years old, for the purpose of sexual exploitation in Taman Bukit Delima at 5.30pm on Jan 24 last year.
They were charged under Section 12 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Atipsom) Act 2007, which was read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
If found guilty, they could face a maximum 15 years jail and fine.
Prosecution was done by DPP Nurhafiza Haron, while the accused was represented by A. Prema.
Earlier, Nurhafiza asked the court not to grant bail as the accused were foreigners.
Prema, however, had asked the court to allow bail as the duo had a relative who worked as a lorry driver in Malaysia and was able to post bail for them.
The court denied bail and set Mar 22 for re-mention. They were also ordered to surrender their passports.