By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, April 1: A former police officer has been sentenced to two years in prison by the High Court here today for the offence of smuggling three migrants into the country through a palm oil plantation in Sri Aman.
Dullah Nulhadi was charged under Section 26J of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 for transporting three migrants from Indonesia into Sarawak using a sedan car and was apprehended at a roadblock at KM 9, Jalan Sri Aman-Betong, around 4.50pm on June 13, 2023.
If found guilty, he could be sentenced to imprisonment for up to five years and fined not exceeding RM250,000 or both.
According to the facts of the case, around 4pm on June 13, 2023, the complainant, a police officer, and his team involved in Operation Tutup spotted a suspicious sedan car passing through the roadblock.
Upon inspection, the accused identified himself as a police officer from a station, and a check confirmed his status as a police officer.
The accused requested permission to pass through the roadblock with Indonesian passengers but was warned by the complainant not to engage in any illegal activity before he was allowed to pass through the roadblock.
Later around 4.50 pm, the accused once again passed through the same roadblock with another three Indonesian migrants using the same sedan car and was subsequently detained by the police for inspection.
Investigations revealed that the three migrants had entered Malaysia through a forest route, and the accused had waited at a guard post of a palm oil plantation to pick up these undocumented migrants.
The accused was thus found guilty of transporting three Indonesian migrants into the country using a sedan car.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Jean Siow Chung Hwei, while the accused was represented by Lawyer Simon Siah.— DayakDaily
