Corpun file 11046

New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur, 7 May 2003

Vietnamese to still get the whip after court rejects appeal

By Jaspal Singh

The High Court today rejected an appeal by the Vietnamese Embassy which applied to review the whipping imposed by a magistrate's court on five of its citizens who pleaded guilty to staying in the country without proper travel document. Judge Datuk Abdull Hamid Embong said since whipping under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Amendment 2002) was mandatory, the court could not review the sentence.

The section provides that an accused who pleads guilty or is found guilty can be fined up to RM10,000 or five years' jail and shall be liable for whipping not exceeding six times.

The five Vietnamese entered the country with legal visas and work permits last year but the company they worked for terminated their employment and their permits were later cancelled by the Immigration Department.

They were subsequently arrested on Oct 18 last year, three days after their work permits were cancelled.

The five - Hoang Dunh Hoat, 35, Nguyen The Thahi, 35, Nguyen Wan Thu, 34, Le Van Binh, 29, and Le Chi Thanh, 27, - pleaded guilty in Teluk Intan magistrate's court.

They were sentenced to 10 months' jail and ordered to be given one stroke of the rotan each. The sentence runs concurrently from the date of their arrest.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Norazura Mohd Mokhtar told the High Court that taking into account their good conduct the five were expected to be released as early as tomorrow or the latest by May 17.

However, she said the five had yet to undergo the whipping.

The five, who were represented by an Embassy official, who also acted as their interpreter, sought the help of the Vietnamese embassy to appeal against the whipping.

© New Straits Times (M) Berhad

Corpun file 11212

New Sabah Times, Kota Kinabalu, 8 May 2003

Nine Filipinos jailed for illegal entry

KOTA KINABALU: The Sessions Court yesterday sentenced nine Filipinos aged between 18-34 to a total of 44 months for entering the country illegally.

Three of them, all men were arrested in various locations around the city and the other six men were arrested in Beaufort between April 25-May 4.

Among them were Filipinos, Misfal bin Sabtulah, 32, who was arrested at 7.35pm on May 2 at Block 'J', Sinsuran and Jul Asri bin Ahmad Rajan, 29, Azman bin Lintu, 23 and Nur bin Hasan, 19 at 11.40pm on April 25 at a construction site of SMK Saga-Saga Beaufort.

Two others, Binal bin Abdul, 33 and Mahathir bin Zulfain, 18, were arrested on May 1 and May 5 in the city area.

Judge Caroline Bee Majanil sentenced four of them to four months' imprisonment and a stroke of the cane each while Judge Ravinthran N. Paramaguru gave out a sentence of four months' jail and a stroke of the cane each to the rest.

They were charged under Section 6 (1) (c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Amended 2002) which provides a jail term up to five years and a fine not exceeding RM10, 000 and liable up to six strokes of the cane upon conviction.

Chief Insp. Abdul Rahman Atan prosecuted.

Copyright © 1999-2000 New Sabah Times. All Rights Reserved.

Corpun file 11040

The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 9 May 2003

Rapist gets 50 years in jail

By Jack Wong

KUCHING: A convicted rapist, who made a dramatic escape from the courthouse here but was later captured, was jailed by the Sessions Court yesterday for a total of 50 years and ordered to be given 20 strokes of the rotan for gang rapes and five other criminal charges.

Judge Supang Lian meted out a heavy punishment on unemployed Siang A'en, 34, for raping, sodomising, having oral sex, robbing and intimidating a 23-year-old woman in an oil palm plantation in Asajaya, Samarahan, in May last year.

The accused, who had four previous convictions, will serve only 39 years in jail from the date of his arrest on July 1, 2002, as some of the sentences are to run concurrently.

When Siang was brought to the courthouse under escort by five policemen, he ran off into nearby bushes but was caught 30 minutes later.

Kuching deputy police chief Supt Tan Soon Tiong said Siang was captured near Taman Orchid, about 2km away from the courthouse, at about 3pm and said an investigation into the escape would be carried out.

Judge Supang also sentenced second accused Zamhari Mahdi, 22, a former army recruit, to 33 years jail and 15 strokes of the rotan after finding him guilty of three charges.

Zamhari would have to serve 30 years due to some concurrent sentences.

A third accused, Dahari Usop, 22, a former polytechnic student, was imprisoned for a total of 24 years and ordered to be whipped 11 times.

Dahari would have to serve only 21 years.

The court disallowed a stay of execution of the sentences for all the three accused, who were jointly charged.

In passing judgment, Supang said she would be failing in her duty if she did not impose a severe penalty on the accused, as the crimes they committed were serious.

"A deterrent sentence is in the interest of the public as society needs to be protected (from would-be rapists).

"l can understand why the complainant has described the accused as murderers.

"In my view, they were worse than murderers," she added.

All the three accused face more charges of gang rape of three other women.

Follow-up: 15 October 2003 - Gang ringleader pleads guilty to three rape charges (illustrated)

Corpun file 11213

New Sabah Times, Kota Kinabalu, 9 May 2003

Out of court proceedings for 170 illegals

By Mohd Zafrin Nordin

TAWAU: The Sessions Court yesterday had to carry out proceedings outside the courtroom to convict some 170 illegal immigrants.

Judge Rungit Singh had to hold the proceeding at a temporary detention centre to sentence the 108 men and 64 women who entered the country illegally.

The men were each given eight months' jail and a stroke of the rotan while the women also received similar jail term minus the rotan.

Prosecuting Officer from the Immigration Department, Rosli Sulaiman told the court that all of them were working in a wood-processing factory in Kalabakan when the police during an 'Ops Mahir' arrested them at 5.25pm on April 25.

The employer who had employed the foreigners was still being investigated and would be charged in court for the offence of employing foreigners, who did not have any document.

Meanwhile in Kota Kinabalu, 10 men and two women aged between 19- 51 were sentenced to a total of 48 months' jail by Session Court judge Ravinthran N. Paramaguru yesterday for a similar offence.

Prosecuting Officer Chief Insp. Abdul Rahman Atan told the court that they were all arrested between April 20-30 in the city area, Kudat, Kota Marudu and Penampang.

All of them were charged under section 6(1) (c ) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Amended 2002) which provides a jail term up to five years, a fine not exceeding RM10, 000 and liable up to six months imprisonment upon conviction.

Nine men were sentenced to four months' jail and a stroke of the cane each while a 51-year-old man and two women were sentenced to four months' jail without whipping.

In the same court, a 32-year-old Indonesian was sentenced to four months' imprisonment for overstaying in the country.

Mohammad Arif was arrested at 6pm on April 27 when he produced an expired temporary work permit valid until Dec 31, 2001.

Copyright © 1999-2000 New Sabah Times.  All Rights Reserved.