KUANTAN: Three individuals, including an Indonesian with PR status, were sentenced to 14 days jail and fine by the magistrate's court here today for possessing contraband cigarettes worth some RM1,200 last month.
Romai Noor Yaacob, 49, Amin Mulamat, 54, and Tuan Iskandar Tuan Mat, 34, who face separate charges, were also fined RM4,844, RM2,408 and RM5,673, respectively, or ordered to serve four, three and four months' jail in default, respectively.
Romai Noor from Kerteh, Terengganu and Tuan Iskandar from Sungai Panching here pleaded guilty to possessing multiple brands of illicit cigarettes worth RM484.48 and RM567.36 respectively while Amin from Indonesia was in possession of cigarettes worth RM240.80.
They were accused of committing the offence along Jalan Pasar Baru here about 10.35pm on June 26.
They were charged under Section 135(1)(d) Customs Act 1967, punishable under Section 135(1)(iii)(aa) of the same act, for possessing or selling smuggled cigarettes which carried a maximum three years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 20 times the value of the seized item, or both.
In mitigation the trio, pleaded for a lower sentence saying they came from poor backgrounds but Customs Department prosecuting officer Nurhafizah Ahmad pressed for a stiff punishment, saying cases involving illicit cigarettes reduced the country's income every year.
She said the contraband cigarettes had resulted the young generation to obtain them easily at much cheaper price.
"The rampant sales of the cheap cigarettes has also contributed to health problems among students who purchase them and many tend to start smoking at a young age," she said,
Magistrate Noor Zaihan Mohamad Ali ordered the jail sentence to begin from the date of arrest, which was June 26.
Romai Noor and Tuan Iskandar were represented by Muhammad Hameezy Mokhtar while Amin was unrepresented.
According to the facts of the case, acting on a tip-off, enforcement personnel from the Customs Department conducted a check at the location before discovering the trio selling the illicit cigarettes to members of the public.