Uzbek woman denies prostitution charge

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Aleksandra at the courthouse yesterday.

KOTA KINABALU: A woman from Uzbekistan pleaded not guilty in the Magistrate’s Court here yesterday to a charge of soliciting for the purpose of prostitution.

Aleksandra Petrova, 24, was charged before magistrate Stephanie Sherron Abbie under Section 372B of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum jail term of two years and also liable to a fine, upon conviction.

She was caught committing the alleged offence at a hotel in Penampang at 11pm on June 30.

Her case will be mentioned on July 25 this year. Aleksandra, who was represented by counsel Alex Lee, was released on RM2,000 bail with two local sureties.

The court also ordered her to report to Penampang police station once a week, pending disposal of the case and her passport was impounded by the court.

In an unrelated case, a 31-year-old Filipino was jailed for 12 months by another Magistrate’s Court here for possessing a fake MyKad.

Deputy registrar of the High Court, Ryan Sangirann Rayner Jr, who presided as a magistrate, imposed the sentence on P. Ramli Umal after the latter admitted to having in her possession the identity card bearing the numbers 750922-12-5807 at a road behind a supermarket at Sulaman Central here on June 28.

He was convicted under Regulation 25 (1) (o) of the National Registration Regulations 1990 which carries a maximum jail term of three years or a fine of between RM3,000 and RM20,000, upon conviction.

The court also ordered him to be referred to the Immigration Department after serving sentence for further action.

In a separate case, local Abdul Manzah Lalah, 29, was jailed for six months by the same court after he pleaded guilty to stealing RM72 cash belonging to a woman at the Tamu of Jalan Gaya here on June 29.

The offence was framed under Section 379 of the Penal Code which is punishable by a jail term of up to seven years and also liable to a fine, upon conviction.

Prosecuting officer Inspectors Lim Swee Beng and Azaman Hamat prosecuted.