KOTA KINABALU: An Immigration officer will stand trial on January 23–24 next year for two counts of trafficking in two Filipinas.
Deputy registrar of the High Court Hafizi Abdul Halim set the hearing date for Suparno Yahmin, 33, when the case came up for mention yesterday.
On the first and the second counts, the accused, who was represented by counsel Hairul V. Othman, was alleged to have trafficked in the women at Terminal two of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport here on November 27, 2012 between 7am and 6pm.
The charge under Section 13 (e) of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrant Act 2007 provides for a jail term of between three years and 20 years and liable to a fine, upon conviction.
The accused also faces two alternative charges of producing fraudulent passports under the Filipinas’ names for the purpose of facilitating trafficking of immigrants at the same time and place.
The accused was granted bail of RM15,000 deposited with RM3,000 with two local sureties during his first arraignment.