PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal today upheld the eight-year jail sentence imposed on four Indonesians for smuggling 37 Bangladeshis into Malaysia two years ago.
The appeals by Zainal Lampe, 45, Rosli Kitan, 43, Rusli Genep, 40, and Ajiman Rahman, 36, for a reduction in their sentences were dismissed by the court’s three-member panel of judges.
The panel, comprising Justices Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, Mohamed Zaini Mazlan and Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli, affirmed the eight-year jail term imposed on the four men by the High Court.
In delivering the court’s decision, Judge Ahmad Zaidi said the eight-year jail sentence was within the range of the sentencing trend for such an offence.
“The appellants fail to show that the prison sentence imposed on them were harsh,” he said.
According to the charge sheet, they illegally smuggled 37 Bangladeshis on an unregistered boat into Malaysian waters at approximately 1.1 nautical miles from Kuala Sepang Kechil, Selangor at 12.10 am on July 1, 2022.
On Oct 17, 2022, the four men pleaded guilty to the offence in the High Court and were sentenced to eight years in jail.
In their appeal to the Court of Appeal, the men requested a reduction in their prison term citing their burden from the punishment and their responsibilities to their children.
Deputy public prosecutor Eyu Ghim Siang argued that the jail term imposed on the four men was fair and aligned with the sentencing trends for similar offences which ranged from seven to 10 years of imprisonment.
He stressed that the smuggling of 37 migrants into the country raises significant concerns regarding national security.
