KUCHING: A 43-year-old odd-job worker was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment by the High Court here Tuesday for transporting four undocumented Indonesian migrants in Bau last year.
Justice Wong Siong Tung ordered that Kong Siew Soon’s prison sentence commence from July 4, 2025 when he was denied bail.
Kong, who pleaded guilty, was charged under Section 26J of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (ATIPSOM), which carries a penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment, a fine not exceeding RM250,000, or both upon conviction.
According to the charge, Kong, as the driver of a Perodua Aruz, was found transporting four illegal migrants — identified as Marhun, 40, Suhun, 43, Lukmanul Hakim, 45, and Anis, 52 — at a parking area opposite of a food court along Jalan Datuk Salau, Bau, at about 2.32pm on April 19, 2025.
The facts of the case stated that an enforcement team conducting Ops Serkap intercepted the vehicle and found the four Indonesian nationals inside.
Subsequent checks with the Immigration Department revealed that none of the migrants had any recent record of lawful entry into Malaysia.
Investigations established that Kong was the driver responsible for transporting the migrants.
The four Indonesians were separately charged under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for entering the country without valid travel documents.
They pleaded guilty and were sentenced accordingly.
In mitigation, defence counsel CM Sundram submitted that Kong was a first-time offender who worked odd jobs and earned about RM3,000 a month to support his wife and three children.
Counsel told the court that Kong had merely agreed to help a neighbour transport workers to Bintulu and claimed he was unaware that the passengers were undocumented migrants.
Sundram said Kong had been unemployed at the time and accepted the task at his neighbour’s request.
He added that Kong regretted his actions and appealed for a lenient sentence, describing him as the sole breadwinner of his family.
The defence also sought the return of the Perodua Aruz, arguing that it was required for the family’s daily activities.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Kong Siew Chuo urged the court to impose an appropriate custodial sentence, stressing that migrant smuggling posed a serious threat to national border security.
In delivering the sentence, Wong emphasised the seriousness of migrant smuggling and declined to order the release of the vehicle.
