Maurice is escorted by a policeman at the courthouse after proceedings today.
KUCHING (Jan 20): The Kuching High Court today sentenced a 37-year-old farmer to two years in prison for smuggling seven foreign migrants into the state in August last year.
Judicial Commissioner Alexander Siew How Wai convicted Maurice Teru 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 an imprisonment term not exceeding five years, or a maximum fine of RM250,000, or both.
Maurice smuggled the seven foreign migrants in his car by the roadside in Kampung Tangga, Jalan Serian/Tebedu, Serian around 11.15pm on Aug 1, 2022.
Based on the facts of the case, police from Serian were conducting a patrol when they stopped a car by the roadside of the village.
The car, which was driven by Maurice, had seven suspected illegal immigrants on board.
The investigation revealed that the immigrants were led by an agent, believed to be an Indonesian citizen still at large, to enter Sarawak via an illegal route and were sent to Maurice’s car.
Based on a search conducted by the Immigration Department, it was found there was no recent record of entry for the foreigners.
Two of the illegal migrants were also charged at the Semuja Sessions Court under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigrations Act 1959/63.
They pleaded guilty and were sentenced accordingly, while the five other illegal immigrants were ordered to be deported.
During proceedings, assigned counsel for Maurice, Clarice Chan appealed for a shorter prison sentence as he was merely trying to make ends meet and also suffered from chronic asthma and pneumonia.
Maurice, who has three children, is living with his unemployed sister.
In passing the sentence, Siew ordered for Maurice’s jail sentence to be calculated from the date of his arrest, and ordered for his car and mobile phone to be returned.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of the seized RM800, which is understood to have been Maurice’s remuneration for smuggling the migrants.
DPP Md Syafique Md Hilmie prosecuted the case.