KUCHING: A suspected member of the “24 Hung Hung” organised crime group pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court and two Magistrate’s Courts here today to seven charges involving the possession of a shotgun and 120 rounds of ammunition.
The 40-year-old accused entered his pleas before judge Musyida Abd Halim, and magistrates Nursyaheeqa Nazwa and Ling Hui Chuan.
At the Sessions Court, the accused was charged with possessing a 12-bore semi-automatic Stoeger Turkey shotgun without lawful authority.
According to the charge, he allegedly committed the offence at about 2.30 am on Apr 15 at a house at near Taman Daya here.
The charge was framed under Section 8 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971, which provides for imprisonment of up to 14 years and a minimum of six strokes of the cane upon conviction.
No bail was offered for the charge pursuant to Section 12 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971. The court fixed Aug 6 for pre-trial case management.
In the two Magistrate’s Courts, the accused also claimed trial to six charges of possessing a total of 120 rounds of shotgun ammunition without an arms licence or permit at the same place, date and time.
The ammunition allegedly comprised 13 rounds of 12-bore Mirage Super Magnum 89 cartridges, 41 rounds of 12-bore Sellier & Bellot cartridges, 22 rounds of 12-bore Mirage Expert Game cartridges, 23 rounds of 12-bore Eley Alphamax cartridges, 12 rounds of 12-bore Law Enforcement cartridges and nine rounds of 12-bore Fiocchi Slug cartridges.
All six charges were framed under Section 8(a) of the Arms Act 1960, which carries a penalty of up to seven years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to RM10,000, or both, upon conviction.
During the bail application, defence counsel Daniel Ling submitted that the offences under the Arms Act were bailable and urged the court to exercise its discretion to grant bail.
He proposed bail of RM2,000 for each charge with one local surety, adding that his client held a licence for the firearm and some of the ammunition.
The prosecution, however, maintained its objection and sought RM5,000 bail with two local sureties for each charge, submitting that bail should not be granted.
After hearing submissions, both magistrates ordered bail at RM3,000 for each of the six charges with two local sureties.
Magistrate Nursyaheeqa fixed Jul 23 for pre-trial case management involving the first three ammunition charges, while magistrate Ling set Aug 6 for pre-trial case management for the remaining three charges.
The prosecution was conducted by Marvin Kaliyani, Muhammad Aidil Akmal Sharidan and Muhammad Afiq Safly Nor Kazly, while the accused was represented by Daniel Ling and Vanessa Yii.
