KOTA KINABALU: A Magistrate’s Court here yesterday fined a 19-year-old woman RM3,000, in default, eight months in jail for smuggling contraband cigarettes.
Magistrate Cindy Mc Juce Balitus imposed the fine on Noryati Pandekar after she pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 135 (1) (d) of the Customs Act 1967 which carries a minimum penalty of ten times the value of the seized items, or a jail term of up to three years, or both, upon conviction. .
Noryati admitted to smuggling the 138 boxes of cigarettes of various brands worth a total of RM287.70 on March 20 this year at a car park area near Wisma Dang Bandang here.
Senior assistant director of the Customs Department, Ahmad Samad told the court that a team of enforcers from the Customs Department and Kota Kinabalu City Hall arrested the accused when conducting a raid in the area.
The team found the goods with unpaid customs duty during a spot check on the Perodua Kancil driven by the accused.
Meanwhile, Kok Wing Ken was charged with stealing three sets of spark plugs from Servay departmental store in Likas on September 30, this year at 7pm.
However, no plea was taken from the accused.
Court registrar Petrus Lee fixed October 8 this year for re-mention of his case and released him on RM2,000 bail with two local sureties.