KUCHING, Oct 1: Four Indonesians were jailed for 20 months by the Sessions Court here on Sept 29 after they pleaded guilty to carrying ten units of gas cylinders (LPG) and possessing scheduled controlled goods of 1,644kg granulated sugar, believed to be smuggled out of Malaysia.
This is the first case to be charged in court under the Gas Distribution Ordinance 2016 since it came into force in 2021.
In a statement today, Sarawak Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (Maritime Malaysia) director First Admiral Zin Azman Md Yunus said all the accused have been sentenced to 20 months in prison starting from the date of their arrest on Sept 14, 2023.
Deki Saputra, 44, Masfaruddin, 55, Aldi, 49 and Ferdiansyah, 31, pleaded guilty to two charges under Section 21 of the Control of Supplies Act 1961, where the accused were sentenced to 12 months in prison and Section 20(1)(a) of the Gas Distribution Ordinance 2016 with a sentence of 20 months in prison.
Judge Saiful Bahari Adzmi ordered both sentences to be carried out simultaneously.
The prosecution of this case was handled by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency together with the Ministry of Utility and Telecommunication Sarawak.
Previously, it was reported that Maritime Malaysia had come across a suspicious ship moving to the Malaysia-Indonesia border approximately 2.7 nautical miles west of Pulau Talang Besar during Ops Permai and Ops Tiris in Sematan waters around 4pm on Sept 14.
Upon inspection, the ship was found to be carrying four Indonesian men aged between 31 and 55 with no valid identification document.
Further investigation found 1,644kg of granulated sugar, ten units of 14kg gas cylinders and 30kg rice in the ship suspected to be sold in the Indonesian market.
Following the success of this case, the Sarawak Maritime Department requested the community, especially the maritime community, to always help to report any misconduct or criminal activity at sea through a complaint to the Sarawak Malaysian Maritime Operations Center at 082-432544 or MERS 999 which operates 24/7. — DayakDaily
