KOTA TINGGI: Fifty one members of a migrant smuggling syndicate were charged at the Sessions Court here today with being part of an organised crime group.
The suspects comprised 19 local men, two local women, three men with permanent resident status, 24 Indonesian men, an Indonesian woman, and two men from Myanmar aged between 21 and 59.
The suspects were all accused of being members of an organised crime gang known as Gang Otong, between Jan 2015 and June 2020.
They were charged under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code.
No pleas were recorded from the suspects, and no bail was offered in the proceeding in front of judge Zahilah Mohamad Yusoff.
Deputy public prosecutors Idham Abd Ghani, Rohaiza Abd Rahman and Izzat Fauzan appeared for the prosecution.
Counsels Hassan Zaid, Muzamil Hariri, Datin S Frida and Mohd Zubairi Salleh appeared for four of the suspects, while the rest were unrepresented.
Zahilah then set Aug 27 for re-mention of the case.
The suspects were brought to the court in four trucks and a van at 8.30am.
They were guarded by dozens of armed police personnel during the hour-long proceeding, with no family members or the public allowed to enter the court building.