KUCHING: A 21-year-old Indonesian man was sentenced to a total of 13 months’ imprisonment by the Magistrates’ and Sessions Courts here on Monday (May 11) for offences related to online gambling and immigration violations.
In the Magistrates’ Court, Magistrate Nursyaheeqa Nazwa Radzali sentenced Fauzi to seven months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to dealing with a gaming machine under Section 4B(a) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953.
The court heard that on April 30, at about 4pm, the accused was found at a billiard and snooker centre at the Kuching Sentral, with a mobile phone containing an online gambling app known as “918KISS”.
According to the facts of the case, the arrest was made during an “Ops Dadu” operation led by a team from the Kota Sentosa police station.
A team of officers conducted surveillance at the premises for about 15 minutes before identifying themselves and inspecting a man at the counter, later identified as the accused.
A check led to the discovery of an Oppo mobile phone believed to be used for online gambling activities, along with RM130 in cash and a phone charger.
The accused was subsequently detained and the items seized for further investigation.
Investigations later confirmed through a gaming expert’s report that the mobile phone constituted a gaming machine as defined under Section 2 of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953.
Meanwhile, in the Sessions Court, Judge Musli Ab Hamid sentenced the accused to a further six months’ imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for not possessing valid travel documents.
The court ordered that the accused be referred to the Immigration Department for further action upon completion of his prison sentence.
The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutors Muhammad Afiq Safly Nor Kazly and Marvind Kaliyani while the accused was unrepresented.
