SIPITANG: About 25 cases were heard by the Mobile Court in Long Pasia recently.
The programme, held from June 22 to 24, organised by the Beaufort Magistrate’s Court, was attended by villagers from Long Pasia and the surrounding villages of Kg Bamban, Kg KPD, Kg Mendolong, Kg Meligan, Kg Mengayam, Kg Iburu and Kg Long Mio.
Police personnel from Sipitang and Beaufort district police headquarters as well as staff from the Kota Kinabalu National Registration Department (NRD), the Sipitang Health Department and members representing the media also joined in the programme.
Also present were magistrates Dana Arabi Wazani of the Beaufort Court, Amir Shah Amir Hassan and Norhamizah bt Shaiffuddin of the Kota Kinabalu Court.
They reached Long Pasia on June 22, in 10 four wheel-drive vehicles after a three-and-a-half hour gruelling road journey over a terrible stretch of gravel road from Sipitang.
They spent the two nights in the house of former Sabah footballer Andrew Laban, who was most hospitable towards the group.
The next day, they set up the whole operation at the Long Pasia cyber library and as early as 8.30am, villagers had already filled the library compound.
Although the special mobile unit of the NRD came along, the only service they rendered was an inquiry counter, resulting in walk-in applications or new registrations being unable to be processed by the court since the department could not do any on-the-spot verification of birth extracts.
This had caused dissatisfaction among the villagers who came to attend the programme and had expended much money, time and energy to come to Long Pasia to have their applications for late registration of births to be heard by the court.
Owing to this technicality, only 25 cases which had been earlier verified by the department were heard by the court, while new applications were registered for verification and to be heard at a later date.
In carrying out its Court Social Responsibility programme, the mobile court also donated clothings to the Long Pasia villagers.
They, in turn, reciprocated by giving out an encouraging response to the service offered by the Health Department to have their blood pressure and blood profiles checked.