Pakistanis charged over fake travel documents

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KOTA KINABALU: Four Pakistani men were charged in the Sessions Court here yesterday for using forged travel documents.

On the first count, 22-year-old Sohrab Khan Habib Khan, pleaded guilty before judge Ishak Bakri to using a Multiple Entry Visa, issued by the Immigration Office in Lahad Datu, where the document stated that he was married to Arnidar Pasojai, 21.

He had committed the offence at the Wasim Grocery Store, in the Inanam Commercial Center, Jalan Tuaran, Inanam on September 3, last year.

Next, Sartaj Khan, also 22, pleaded guilty to a similar offence by using a Multiple Entry Visa which stated that he was married to 30-year-old Ruslin Abu.

The offence was committed in Kampung Likas on February 5, this year at around 7:30pm.

In mitigation, Sohrab asked for a lighter sentence, and asked for the judge to send him home while Sartaj asked that he only pay a fine for his offence, while adding that he had to take care of his wife, who was six months pregnant.

However, Awang Shamsul Baharam Bongsu, the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commision (MACC) prosecuting officer stated that both men deserved a deterrent sentence as their arrests were due to continue for investigation into bribing several officers of the Immigration Department in Lahad Datu.

“The MACC has found out that there is a syndicate specializing in the forging of Multiple Entry Visas, and these involve Pakitani nationals,” he said during the hearing here yesterday.

“They are guaranteed by their wives, who in fact, are not legally their wives at all. The arrests of these Pakistani men resulted from an initial investigation by the MACC.”

He added that the use of passports containing false information by Pakistanis was prevalent, and it was a serious offence.

“This involves not only the safety, but the integrity of the government, as well as the Immigration Department, which is the ‘doorway’ into our country,” said he.

Judicial notice, Awang said, could be made in relation to the flood of Pakistani nationals entering the state.

Hence, he asked that the men be given a prison sentence as well as a fine, though they had pleaded guilty and saved the time of the court, which in turn should take into consideration the intereset of the country.

Awang contested that such a sentence would deter others who wished to manipulate the laws of the country.

Sohrab and Sartaj were both sentenced to three months imprisonment from their date of sentencing, and ordered to pay a fine of RM10,000.

Once they had completed their sentence, the judge ordered that they be referred to the Immigration Department for deportation.

Meanwhile, 25-year-old Afzal Khan Mirasan Khan, was also charged with using a forged Multiple Entry Visa, in which it claimed that he was married to Sharwaty Samporang, 22.

The offence was commited at the Papar Temporary Detention Center on February 4, this year.

The fourth man, Shamsul Alam Habib Rasool, 30, also claimed trial to committing such an offence at the Kepayan Detention Center on October 14, 2014, where his Social Visit Pass contained false information, claiming that he was married to Manisah Sabal, 28.

As they had denied the charges, they were ordered to return to court for their case management on March 17, this year. Both men were not offered bail, and ordered to be further remanded under Section 259 of the Criminal Procedure Code, pending disposal of their case.

Forgery is punishable with a maximum jail term of two years along with a fine, as stated under Section 465 of the Penal Code, and framed under Section 471 of the same Code.