KUALA LUMPUR: Eleven ethnic Uighurs were charged at the magistrate’s court today with entering the country without valid travel documents.
Zakaria Arman, Salehudin Ali, Jaefar Amin, Osman Abbas, Alim Osman, Asen Ziyali, Taher Kasim, Ibrahim Rexiti, Nurudin Muhammad, Abdul Kader and Yusof Ahmed pleaded not guilty to the charge that was read to them in Turkish before magistrate Zuhair Rosli.
The 11 men aged between 20 and 40 allegedly committed the offence at the vicinity of the Sentul police station here about 10.50am on Jan 31.
They were charged under Section 6 (1) (c) of the Immigration Act (Act 155) which carries a maximum fine of RM10,000 or a jail term of up to five years or both, and whipping not exceeding six strokes, if convicted.
No bail was allowed.
The case will be up for mention on May 31.
Deputy public prosecutor Najwa Bistamam prosecuted while the eleven accused were represented by counsel Fahmi Abd Moin, Ilyani Khuszairy, Zainal Omar and Raimi Ab Rahim.
It was reported earlier that Thai officials were tracking down 20 ethnic Uighur Muslims from China who made a daring escape from an immigration detention centre in southern Thailand, as Beijing urged Bangkok to return the group to Chinese soil.