4 Indonesians charged with smuggling 104 migrants

If convicted, Adi Warman, Gading, Rafiernanda and Yunus Saputra face a maximum of 20 years in jail, a fine or both.

MANJUNG:

Four Indonesian men were charged at the sessions court today over two separate cases of smuggling 102 Indonesian migrants and two Vietnamese nationals last month.

Boat skipper Adi Warman, 36, and his assistants Gading, 31, and Rafiernanda, 19, nodded after the charges were read out before judge Azizah Ahmad.

They are accused of jointly smuggling 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, was charged with a similar offence of smuggling 40 migrants last month, comprising 38 Indonesians and two Vietnamese nationals.

He is accused of smuggling the 28 men and 12 women near Pantai Hutan Kuari Sungai Batu in Manjung at about 8am on the same date.

No plea was recorded from any of the accused as the offence falls under the jurisdiction of the High Court.

The charges were brought under Section 26A of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, a fine or both, upon conviction.

Deputy public prosecutor Anisah Pisol, appearing for the prosecution, offered no bail as the offence is non-bailable under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.

The accused were unrepresented. The court set Oct 27 for the next case mention.