IPOH, July 25 — Ten men, including five Indonesians, were charged in the Sessions Court here today with smuggling in migrants last month.

They are five local men, namely, Tan Ke Huat, 52; S. Ananthan, 48; S. Sivalingam, 47; P.A. Suresh, 38, and Mohd Johan Musa, 38, while the other five men are Indonesians — Eko Rahmadani, 22; Tuah, 23; Erfanni, 32; Klau Nofrianus Erick, 34, and Siprianus Nahak Lutan, 36.

All of them pleaded not guilty when the charges were read simultaneously, before Judge Azizah Ahmad.

According to the charge sheet, they were charged together with a common intention of having smuggled in 35 Indonesian migrants, at the Batu 10 oil palm plantation area in Segari, Manjung, between June 20 and 30, this year.

The charges are framed under Section 26A of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which provides for a prison sentence of not more than 20 years and a fine, or both, if convicted.

Deputy public prosecutor, Afiqah Izzati Mazlan, appeared for the prosecution, while lawyer Mohamad Khazali Yin represented Eko Rahmadani; lawyer Raja Segaran represented Tan, Suresh and Sivalingam while lawyer Kashvinder Singh represented Ananthan; the other five accused were unrepresented.

Afiqah Izzati requested a period of two months to record the statements of all 35 migrants at the Manjung Magistrates’ Court and to file the case at the High Court.

The three lawyers requested that bail be allowed for their clients, but no bail money was offered as it is not under the purview of the Sessions Court to hear bail applications in the case.

The court then set September 25 for the case to be transferred to the High Court.

On June 30, the media reported that 35 undocumented migrants, who hid in palm oil plantations when they first landed on the coast of Segari, Manjung, were arrested after the police received information about a boat stranded on the coast, which was said to be boarded by foreigners.

The search of the oil palm plantation found a group of undocumented migrants hiding, consisting of 24 men, 10 women and a child before the police arrested two local men at a seafood restaurant near Kampung Bharu, Manjung. — Bernama