SEPANG: The Sessions Court here today spent nearly three hours charging 373 Chinese nationals who were arrested by the Immigration Department during a special operation in Cyberjaya, last month.
The accused arrived at the court at 7.30am and were charged in 10 batches before judge Tengku Shahrizam Tengku Lah beginning at 8am.
The charge was read out in Mandarin by four translators.
A total of 321 of the Chinese nationals have pleaded guilty for entering and staying in Malaysia without valid passes when they were arrested at Malaysian House of Internet Sdn Bhd, located in Wisma Mustapha Kamal at Jalan Usahawan Lingkaran Cyber Point Barat in Cyberjaya at 3.30pm on Nov 20.
Tengku Shahrizam sentenced 259 of them to four months' jail from the date of their arrests, and another 31 with a RM5,000 fine each, in default of four months' jail.
"Once you have paid the fine, you are required to leave this country as soon as possible," the judge added.
For another 52 of the accused, Tengku Shahrizam fixed their case for mention on Jan 10 next year to allow the authorities to check the authenticity of their passports.
The Immigration Department’s prosecution team is being led by V. Kasthuri Bai, who asked the court to mete out deterrent sentences to all of the accused.
"In the spirit of the Immigration Act and (considering) the gravity of the offence when they were arrested at an online Internet premises to earn a living here.
"The court must factor in their intention of being in this country, despite the Immigration Department having conducted operations on a daily basis.
"They are here without any care about this country's rule of the law. On this note, a deterrent penalty should be considered as a lesson to others," she told the court.
Before the court adjourned, Tengku Shahrizam reminded all of those involved, especially the lawyers representing the accused, to reach the court before 8am on Monday for another group of Chinese nationals to be charged for offences under the Immigration Act.
"For instance, today, I have to start at 8am sharp so that I can attend to the other cases. Look behind you, many are waiting for their cases to be called," he said.
Immigration Department director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud said that the department has completed its investigation into 680 Chinese nationals who were detained during a raid in Cyberjaya, who will be charged in court today and on Monday.
He also said that investigations at Cyberjaya had revealed that there had been no involvement of ‘insiders’ at the Immigration Department.
Up to 941 Chinese nationals have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in online scams across Malaysia since last month – 680 in Cyberjaya on Nov 20; 104 in Sabah on Nov 26; 52 in Sarawak on Nov 29, and 105 in Ipoh on Dec 9 and 11.