KOTA KINABALU: A man was jailed for two and a half years by the High Court here on Tuesday for bringing in transit an undocumented male juvenile from China who was allegedly smuggled into Malaysia two years ago.
Justice Datuk Nurchaya Hj Arshad imposed the sentence on Jamir Amil, 27, who pleaded guilty to the charge on March 12.
Jamir admitted to bringing in transit the 16-year-old migrant whether by any way or to make it easy for the alleged smuggling to be done, at the arrival hall of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport here at 8.40 pm on March 22, 2019.
He was convicted under Section 26C of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007 (Act 670), read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
The indictment carries a jail term of up to seven years and also liable to a fine or both, upon conviction.
The facts of the case among others stated that in 2018, the accused was approached by a woman known as Umailah in Semporna and was persuaded to become a middle man to look for clients, who wanted to get birth certificate and identity card.
The accused had agreed to become a middle man since he was desperate to get a birth certificate for his first born and Umailah convinced the accused that she could help to solve the matter if the accused can pay her RM3,000.
Umailah told the accused that the price range for birth certificate was between RM3,000 and RM8,000 per piece while identity card price was RM6,000.
Then in 2019, the accused met a few individuals including a civil servant for discussion and handing over of a birth certificate under the name of one Adrian.
The birth certificate of Adrian was given to the said juvenile and the accused brought him into Sabah.
However, the juvenile, who used Adrian’s identity had been arrested for an offence under the National Registration Regulations 1990 and the juvenile also informed the authority regarding the accused’s involvement in bringing him to Sabah.
The court ordered the accused to serve his jail term from the date of his arrest on October 23, 2019.