Man, 64, pleads not guilty to alleged smuggling of two immigrants

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Ronyeh (centre) will be remanded in Puncak Borneo Prison.

KUCHING (Dec 14): A senior citizen pleaded not guilty in the High Court today to charges of smuggling two Indonesian women in June.

Ronyeh Ribos, 64, was charged under Section 26A of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants Act (ATIPSOM) 2007 for carrying out migrant smuggling activities and if convicted can be sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding 15 years or a fine or both.

According to case facts, he committed the offense on June 6, at about 12.05am in Kampung Sepadah, Jalan Lundu-Bau.

Once the plea of ​​not guilty was recorded, Judge Datuk Zaleha Rose Pandin set the case management on June 17, 2022 while the trial of the case was set for September 19 to 22, 2022.

Earlier, lawyer Francis Teron, who represented the accused, applied to the court for his client to be granted bail because the accused would be remanded in Puncak Borneo Prison for a long time while waiting for the next case to be mentioned.

The court however held that the accused did not have a strong reason to obtain bail and subsequently rejected the application.

The prosecution was handled by Deputy Public Prosecutor Ruthra Raj.