KOTA KINABALU: A woman and two men were each sentenced to 49 years in jail by the Court of Appeal here on seven joint charges of trafficking seven foreign women for sexual exploitation.
A three-member panel chaired by Judge Datuk Supang Lian, who sat together with Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah and Datuk Wong Kian Kheong, unanimously meted out the punishment on Bambie Amor Relioque, 40, Esekeroboy Asing, 49, and Ng Vai Kwang, 60.
They were sentenced after the prosecution successfully appealed against their acquittal.
Each of them was convicted and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for each charge. The court, however, ordered the jail term to run concurrently from today.
The prosecution was appealing against the High Court's decision in affirming the Sessions Court's order to acquit and discharge the trio on Jan 25, 2019.
The trio was charged with trafficking seven women aged between 21 and 23 at a house in Labuan in 2017. Counsel Edward Paul represented the trio.