Tuyat is seen with his wife at the courthouse after sentencing.
KUCHING (Oct 11): The High Court here today sentenced a 40-year-old man to two years imprisonment for smuggling 10 Indonesians into the state last August.
Judge Dr Alwi Abdul Wahab convicted Tuyat Mungkun from Pantu on his own guilty plea to a charge framed under Section 26J of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Atipsom) Act 2007.
The Section provides for up to five years in prison, or a fine not exceeding RM250,000, or both, upon conviction.
Tuyat committed the offence by transporting 10 migrants in a vehicle on Aug 1, 2022, around 11.20pm at Kampung Tangga, Jalan Serian-Tebedu.
Based on the facts of the case, personnel from Serian police headquarters patrolling the area stopped Tuyat and inspected his vehicle.
The inspection found 10 Indonesian migrants in the vehicle and he was subsequently detained.
The investigation revealed the 10 Indonesians were allegedly led by an agent, an Indonesian citizen still at large, to enter the state via an illegal route.
The migrants consisted of three men, four women, and three children aged between one and nine.
The Immigration Department found there was no recent record of entry for all the smuggled migrants.
Five of the migrants were charged at Semuja Sessions Court and pleaded guilty for an offence under Section 6(1)(c) of Immigration Act 1959/63.
Another five migrants – two mothers and the three children – were ordered to be deported.
Deputy public prosecutor Ronie Entili prosecuted the case while Tuyat was unrepresented by counsel.