By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, July 9: The High Court today granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) to an immigration officer accused of smuggling 20 Indonesian migrants into Malaysia through the Tebedu checkpoint last year.
Judicial Commissioner Zaleha Mohd Yusuf Pan issued the order after Deputy Public Prosecutor Kong Siew Chuo informed the court that the prosecution was withdrawing the charge against 43-year-old Mohamad Farihan Abdullah.
Farihan, who was stationed at the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complex in Tebedu, had been charged under Section 26B of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007.
He was accused of facilitating the illegal entry of 10 Indonesian men and 10 women, aged between 23 and 64, into Malaysia at around 9am on Feb 7, 2023, at the ICQS office in Serian.
If convicted, the offence carries a prison term of no less than three years and up to 20 years, and may include a fine. In aggravated cases, the penalty could be life imprisonment or a minimum of five years in jail with whipping.
Prior to today’s ruling, Farihan’s legal counsels, Steven Beti and Gerald Empaling Donald, had submitted a representation to the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), calling for the charge to be dropped on grounds of insufficient evidence directly linking their client to the alleged offence.
With the DNAA granted, Farihan is released from the charge for now, but he may face prosecution again if new evidence surfaces. — DayakDaily
