Agent charged with harbouring 7 undocumented migrants, possessing 6 passports
PASIR MAS: An agent was charged at the Sessions Court here today with harbouring seven undocumented migrants and possessing six passports belonging to other people without lawful authority in Tumpat on Oct 14.
On October 14, an agent named Chua Kee Lin, 40, was charged in Pasir Mas' Sessions Court with harbouring seven undocumented Indonesian migrants and possessing six stolen passports, according to prosecutors. Chua pleaded not guilty to both charges before Judge Zulkpli Abdullah. The first charge, under Section 55E(1) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, alleges that Chua allowed the migrants to stay at a Nissan Serena parked at a road junction near Kampung Pauh Ganja in Pasir Pekan, Tumpat, at 8:25 AM.
The second charge, Section 12(1)(f) of the Passport Act 1966, accuses him of possessing six passports without lawful authority at Kampung Kok Seraya, Tumpat, at 9:05 AM on the same day.
For harbouring undocumented migrants, Chua faces a fine between RM5,000 and RM30,000, or up to 12 months in jail, or both, for each migrant. If convicted again, the penalty increases to a fine between RM10,000 and RM60,000, or up to two years in jail, or both. For possessing stolen passports, Chua is liable to a fine of up to RM10,000, a jail term of up to five years, or both.
Chua is represented by lawyer Lim Kwang Ching of KC Lim & Partners, while Siti Khaidijah Khairuddin prosecutes. The court ordered Chua to pay RM10,000 bail for the immigration charge and RM15,000 for the passport charge, totaling RM25,000. The court scheduled a mention and document submission for November 22. Separately, the seven Indonesian women accused of overstaying in Malaysia were found guilty under Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
Each woman, aged between 20 and 51, was fined RM10,000, with a second-month imprisonment penalty for default payment.
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