Man fined for ferrying undocumented migrants

KUCHING: A local man has been fined RM15,000 or sentenced to six months in prison by the High Court today for allowing undocumented migrants in his van.

Sahrim Cicci pleaded guilty to an alternative charge read by the language interpreter before Judicial Commissioner Alexander Siew How Wai.

According to the alternative charge, as a van driver, he allowed three undocumented migrants to remain in a Mazda van while on the Tebedu-Serian Road at around 10 am on January 13, 2021.

He was charged under Section 55E(1) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, which is punishable under Section 55E(2) of the same act and read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.

If found guilty, he could be fined not less than RM5,000 and not more than RM30,000 or imprisoned for not more than 12 months or both for each undocumented immigrant found on the premises.

According to the case facts, during the incident, a police team stopped a Mazda van driven by the accused, believing it was transporting undocumented migrants.

Upon inspection, eight Indonesian passengers were found in the van. Five of them had valid passports, while two passengers named Irsan Palari and Sudirman Pahri had overstayed in Malaysia, and a two-year-old child had no valid travel documents.

The two passengers pleaded guilty and were sentenced under Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63. Meanwhile, the female child was sent back without charges.

Therefore, the accused was investigated for allowing all three undocumented migrants to remain in his vehicle.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jean Siow Chung Hwei handled the prosecution, while the accused was represented by two lawyers, Ernie Natasha Azman and Osman Ibrahim.