KUCHING: The High Court here sentenced a man to two years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to a charge of smuggling migrants.
Judge Datuk Faridz Gohim Abdullah handed down the sentence to 55-year-old Padir Mohamad, who admitted to conveying two Indonesian women into the country without valid entry.
The court ordered that the sentence commence from July 7, 2025, the date he was remanded, following his earlier release on police bail.
According to the charge, Padir committed the offence at about 3:45 pm on April 15, 2025, at a plantation oil in Lundu.
He was found to have transported two Indonesian nationals – identified as Sri Wahyuni, 23, who possessed a passport, and Fitriani, 23, who did not have any valid travel documents – in a Proton Saga.
The offence falls under Section 26J of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, which carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to RM250,000, or both.
The facts of the case revealed that an Immigration Department enforcement team, conducting ‘Ops Serkap’, intercepted the vehicle and discovered the two migrants during an inspection.
Investigations established that Padir was the driver responsible for transporting the migrants.
Checks with the Immigration Department showed that Sri Wahyuni had a prior entry record into Malaysia on September 1, 2023, while no valid entry record was found for Fitriani.
Both women were subsequently charged under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and had pleaded guilty, receiving their respective sentences.
In mitigation, defence counsel Abdul Rahman Mohamad Hazmi urged the court to consider the accused’s financial situation, background, and level of the accused’s involvement in the offence.
He also requested for a lighter sentence of not more than two years’ imprisonment, to run from the date of arrest on April 15, 2025, noting that the accused had spent five days in police custody before being released on bail.
The defence further applied for the vehicle used in the offence to be returned to its rightful owner.
Deputy Public Prosecutor, Kong Siew Chuo, appearing for the prosecution, submitted that the offence fell under the First Schedule of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA) and involved elements affecting national security.
She urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, proposing two years’ imprisonment to run from July 7, 2025.
The court also allowed the application for the Proton Saga used in the offence to be returned to its rightful owner.
