The accused consisted of 123 men and eight women, aged between 18 and 54. Bernama Photo
TELUK INTAN: Some 131 Chinese nationals pleaded guilty in the Sessions Court here today to a charge of overstaying and not having a valid pass or permit.
The accused comprising 123 men and eight women, aged between 18 and 54 years, made the plea before Judge Norita Mohd Ardani after the charges were read in Mandarin.
Judge Norita fined 10 of them RM10,000 each in default of two weeks’ jail for overstaying while another 121 of them were fined RM5,000 each in default of two months’ jail for being in the country without a valid pass or permit.
They were charged under Section 15 (1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for overstaying and under Section 6 (1)(c) of the same Act for entering and staying in the country without valid permits.
In a five-hour trial beginning at 10.30 am, the Immigration Department prosecuting team was represented by Nurul Asyikin Rosli while the accused were represented by lawyers Varghese Onny, V. Santhiran, Zaflee Pakwanteh and Amir Khusyairi Mohamad Tanusi.
All the accused were detained at the Perak Immigration Department last month around Ipoh. – Bernama