Corpun file 13800

New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur, 4 August 2004

Rape case 1

A whopping 75 years' jail for stepdad

KOTA BARU, Aug 3: A rubber tapper, 40, was sentenced by the Sessions Court today to a whopping 75 years' jail and 50 strokes of the rotan for raping his step-daughter.

Judge Azman Abdullah said there had been so many cases of incest in society recently and one way to curb them was to mete out heavy sentences to offenders.

He described the actions by the man as "disgusting acts which should be stopped".

The tapper, a Thai national, pleaded guilty to five charges of raping the girl, who is now 15 years old, between 2001 and 2003.

Azman sentenced him to 15 years' jail and 10 strokes on each charge, the sentences to run consecutively. He was not represented.

The accused raped the girl at an unnumbered house at Sungai Mengkuang, Manik Urai in Kuala Krai.

Copyright © 2004 NST Online. All rights reserved.

Corpun file 13869

Channel NewsAsia.com, Singapore, 17 August 2004

Malaysia faces rising problem of illegal immigrants

By Melissa Goh
Channel NewsAsia's Malaysia Correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR: Up to 18,000 illegal immigrants have been caned in the past two years since the Malaysian government introduced tough new laws.

But the problem is far from over and the authorities are facing calls for a total review of immigration policies to better deal with the increasing numbers of illegal workers in the country.

Malaysian authorities have been conducting midnight raids to flush out an estimated 1.2 million illegal immigrants in the country.

Most are from neighbouring Indonesia, and working in the construction and plantation sectors.

Their huge numbers, coming after half a million illegal immigrants were deported under tough new laws, have led to calls for a thorough review of immigration policies.

"In less than two years the government comes back to say we have 1.2 million illegal workers. Where did the government go wrong if in such a short period we can have 1.2 million undocumented workers? What I am trying to say is the system has failed because we are barking up the wrong tree. We should be getting the culprits, the recruiting agents, the traffickers," said Dr Irene Fernandez, a women's rights activist.

So far, many illegal immigrants had been prosecuted under the new immigration laws but not a single employer has been charged.

To demonstrate the government's seriousness in tackling the problem, employers found hiring or employing illegal foreign workers will be fined up to 10,000 ringgit or jailed up to five years, or both.

Indonesians who have lived and worked legally in Malaysia for many years have expressed their concern over the issue.

One Indonesian executive urged his fellow citizens not to try and escape during raids as it would attract tough police action.

"Wait for the decision from the Malaysian and Indonesian governments. If your place is raided please do not run, or you will get into more trouble," said Khairuddin Harahap, director of Indonesia Sociology Research ISR.

As the raids continue, Malaysia and Indonesia are discussing various measures ahead of an expected new round of mass deportation at the end of the year.

Both sides want to avoid the problems in the first round, which included burning of detention camps and allegations of rape by camp guards.

Illegal immigrants in Malaysia who are first time offenders face up to six months in jail and caning. - CNA

Corpun file 13868

The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 17 August 2004

Comment

Whip illegals and send them home

By V.K. Chin

EMPLOYERS of illegal workers should heed the warning by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak that they should be punished for their actions.

The DPM, who chaired the Cabinet committee on Foreign Workers, said it was time for these errant employers to be punished for breaking the law in employing such workers.

Unless the employers concerned were punished, they would continue to recruit such foreign labour. Najib also noted that none of them had been punished so far.

So long as there are employers who are prepared to employ illegal workers, these foreigners will continue to enter the country without proper documents in order to earn a living.

While the government and people welcome and appreciate the contributions of foreign workers who are here legally, they draw the line when it involves illegal ones.

Employers prefer illegal ones because they are cheaper and therefore cost effective. They are prepared to break the law just to maximise their earnings. But this is going to cost the country dearly later on as such illegal immigrants will refuse to return home for various reasons.

What irks the locals is that those illegals unable to find work may decide to commit crimes just to survive. Many of them are here for economic reasons but bad times can change a person's behaviour.

Apart from punishing the errant employers, the government should speed up cases involving illegal immigrants so that they could be whipped and send home immediately.

However, we have such a good reputation as a caring government and the leniency shown to such foreigners will only encourage more of them to take the risk and make their way here.

It is time therefore for us to be tough and to show that while we welcome legal foreigners to work or holiday here, we cannot tolerate those who take advantage of our generosity.

There is really not much point to just round them up and send them home without any meaningful punishment. Some drastic action will have to be taken to discourage them and others from overstaying their visas or entering the country illegally.

Holding them for any period before their deportation is an unnecessary drain on our financial resources and so it is better to just whip them and send them home.

Otherwise they will not learn their lesson and many of them will no doubt try to return at the earliest opportunity.

This action may cause some misunderstanding with neighbouring governments but we can no longer bear the cost of accommodating so many foreigners in the country.

© 1995-2002 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)

Corpun file 14025

Sarawak Tribune, Kuching, 18 August 2004

Van driver gets 10 years for rape

SHOWING THE EVIDENCE … Erik (white t-shirt) being escorted by policemen outside the court complex to confirm the car used in the rape (later confirmed a rented vehicle) witnessed by court officials including the presiding judge.

KUCHING – A 32-year-old man was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment with three strokes of rotan by the Sessions Court here yesterday after he pleaded guilty to the charge of raping a girl last week.

Erik Ma'ang ak Dring admitted before Sessions Court Judge Rhodzariah Bujang that he raped the 24-year-old girl at about 1 am on August 9 this year inside a Perodua Kancil at a secluded spot along Lorong Pera 4, near Jalan Mambong, Penrissen.

He was charged under Section 376 of the Penal Code, which carries the punishment of jail, not less than five years and not more than 20 years together with whipping.

The van driver also admitted that he assaulted the woman, who hails from Lawas, by using an iron rod at the same occasion to threaten her and allowed him to fulfil his lust at about 12. 55 am.

The girl suffered some bruises on her leg, knee and hip as a result of being hit by the iron rod used by the rapist, an instrument to unbolt the car's tyre. The iron rod and the car were brought to the court's proceeding as evidence. For the assault charge framed under Section 324 of the same Code, Judge Rhodzariah sentenced the offender to one-year imprisonment, which is to run concurrently with the rape sentence.

According to the brief facts adduced before the court yesterday, the offender met the victim, a Lunbawang from Lawas, at the Kuching Waterfront. Erik later convinced the 24-year-old, who just came from Lawas on August 8 looking for job here, that he too "is a Lunbawang" after showing her his name on an ATM card. Later the two went to watch a concert at Padang Merdeka before going for a joyride. At around midnight, instead of sending her back, the offender took her to a secluded road near Jalan Mambong where he raped her after criminally intimidating her using the iron rod.

Judge Rhodaziah in passing the sentence said she took into account the guilty plea of the accused as well as the gravity of the offence together with the mitigation and previous criminal record of the offender. According to prosecution officer Chief Inspector Fung Lee Fook, Erik had five previous criminal records, mostly involving theft and housebreaking. The offender who was unrepresented yesterday, pleaded for leniency as according to him, he has four young children to take care of with one of them suffering from brain cancer.

Copyright ©2003 Sarawak Press Sdn. Bhd. All rights reserved.

Corpun file 13897

Bernama News Agency, Kuala Lumpur, 20 August 2004

Waiter Jailed 11 Months For Illegal Entry, Possession Of Fake IC

A policeman escorting a former hotel waiter Samsuddin Mustamin, 25, to enter the High Court jail in Kota Kinabalu, Friday after sentencing him.

KOTA KINABALU, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- A waiter who was acquitted of murdering State Assistant Minister Datuk Norjan Khan Bahadar at a hotel where he was employed here last February was Friday jailed a total of 11 months and ordered to be given a stroke of the rotan for illegal entry and possession of a fake IC.

Samsuddin Mustamin, 25, an Indonesian, was first produced before the Sessions Court here where he pleaded guilty to entering the state without any valid pass or permit.

Judge Ravinthran Paramaguru sentenced him to three months' jail and ordered that he be given a stroke of the rotan for committing the offence under the Immigration Act.

He was then produced before the Magistrate's Court here where he pleaded guilty to using another person's IC.

Magistrate Nurulizwan Ahmad Zubir sentenced him to eight months' jail for committing the offence under the National Registration Regulations.

His defence counsel, Alexander Siew, asked the court to make an order for the sentences to run concurrently as Samsuddin had already been under remand for more than six months, since the murder case.

However, the prosecuting officer, Chief Insp Abdul Rahman Atan, said that he had received instructions from the senior deputy public prosecutor for the sentences to run consecutively.

Nurulizwan later ordered the jail sentence that she had imposed to run after Samsuddin had finished the sentence imposed by the Session Court earlier.

Samsuddin was detained by the police on Aug 11 at the Kota Kinabalu Court premises following his acquittal on the murder charge, for using a fake IC and the remand order obtained by the police against him expired Friday.

During police investigations, Samsuddin confessed that he used the IC belonging to one Azman Bakar without any authorization or reasonable cause.

He said that he had obtained the IC for RM450 from a man known only as John while he was in Tawau. -- BERNAMA

Corpun file 13903

The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 24 August 2004

Director gets jail, rotan for cheating

KUALA LUMPUR: A 36-year-old company director was sentenced to 24 years' jail and ordered to be whipped eight times after he was found guilty by a Sessions Court yesterday on four counts of cheating a fellow director of RM12,629.

Beh How Cheh is to receive six years' jail and two strokes of the rotan on the first charge of deceiving one Tan Giam Siew, 50, by inducing her to sign an OCBC Bank cheque worth RM2,280 for the delivery of "phantom" goods on June 30, 1999.

The former director of Vantage Accord Sdn Bhd was sentenced to six years' jail and ordered to be whipped twice for each of the three other counts of cheating -- deceiving Tan into signing a cheque worth RM3,250 on Sept 15, 1999, and two cheques for RM3,174 and RM3,925 respectively on Nov 15 the same year.

Beh, however, will only spend six years in prison, as the jail terms run concurrently with effect from yesterday.

Judge Mohd Zaki Abd Wahab said the prosecution had succeeded in proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

In mitigation, defence counsel Abd Rashid Abd Rahman urged the court to hand out a lower sentence as Beh was supporting his elderly parents and three children.

He added that Beh had no previous convictions, adding that he was also the director of another company.

The court, however, allowed Abd Rashid's application for a stay of execution on the sentence pending an appeal at the High Court.

Mohd Zaki also fixed bail at RM40,000 with one surety.

© 1995-2002 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)