84 Filipino and Indonesian nationals fined or jailed for using fake or borrowed identity cards to secure employment at a Johor factory.
KULAI: A total of 84 individuals pleaded guilty in the Magistrate’s Court here today to using either someone else’s identity card or a fake identity card as their identification document to work at a factory in the Johor Technology Park, Senai.
Magistrate R. Salini fined 83 of them RM4,000 each, in default seven months’ jail, while another was sentenced to seven months’ jail, to be served from the date of arrest, which was last Nov 17.
The accused, comprising 66 women and 18 men of Filipino and Indonesian nationality, are aged between 18 and 53 years.
The charges against them were read out separately in the proceedings, starting from 11 am to 4.30 pm.
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Based on the facts of the case, checks by the National Registration Department (NRD) during an operation conducted last Monday found that the information on the submitted copy of the identity card did not belong to the accused, and that the thumbprint and identity card number either did not exist or had never been issued by the department.
They were charged under Regulation 25(1)(e) of the National Registration Regulations 1990 (Amendment 2007), which provides a maximum prison sentence of three years or a fine of up to RM20,000 or both, if convicted.
Twenty of the accused were represented by lawyer Jihad Syahida Nadia Zakaria, while lawyer Norasykin Md Jabarulla represented another 30 accused.
The others were represented by lawyer Sharmaine Fairuz Mohd Zulkifli from the National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK).
In mitigation, all of them requested the minimum sentence on various grounds, including being a single mother, having young children to take care of, working in a factory and being first-time offenders.
NRD prosecuting officer Zulkarnain Ahmad argued that the misuse of identity cards could affect national security as well as have economic and political implications.
Also appearing for the prosecution are NRD prosecuting officers Mohd Ramzi Adnan, Noorlelawathi Man, Izzul Zakwan Zulkeflee, Nurul Nadiah Zainal Abidin and Mohd Shazlan Hafizi Mat Yaacob.
Last Monday’s operation by the NRD was conducted in collaboration with the Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM). – Bernama
