IMMIGRATION MAN ACCUSED OF BEING PART OF GANG

16 men charged with involvement in crime gang operating in Penang between September 2019 and June 17 this year

AN Immigration Department officer from Kedah was among 16 men charged at the Sessions Court yesterday for alleged involvement in an organised crime gang named “Geng Husen Maungdaw”.

The 16 men, including 13 Rohingya, were aged between 20 and 50.

They were escorted to the courtroom under heavy guard by the police around 9am.

The accused are Immigration officer Mohamad Jafnizal Mohammad Jafferi, Syed Husen Syed Ahmed, Mohd Ayas Abd Hussain, Omar Rashid, Mohammad Rafik Abdul Kasim, Mohamad Ayub Sunail, Karim Oli Ahmad, Shamsul Alam Zakaria, Abdullah @ Maung Hla Wing, Mohammad Rashid Mohd Shobir, Nor Mustafa Kaloo, Mohd Hashim Osi Rahman, Mohamad Zubir Abd Shukur, Nur Mohamed Mugul Ahmed, Mohiddin Mohd Rafiq and Amran Che Man.

They were charged before Sessions Court Judge Norsalha Hamzah while Deputy Public Prosecutor Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim prosecuted.

Lawyers Y. Anbananthan, Datuk Naran Singh, Mohd Rafiee Noordin, Abdul Rahim Md Yusuf, Norizan Yaacub, P. Selvaraj and V. Parthipan represented some of the accused.

According to the charge, the 16 men were accused of being members of the organised crime group, which operated in the northeast district of Penang, between September last year and June 17 this year.

They were charged under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code and can be jailed for between five and 20 years if found guilty. The accused understood the charge which was read to them. However, no plea was recorded from any of them.

Norsalha fixed Sept 8 for mention and no bail was allowed.

After the case proceedings, Parthipan told reporters outside the courtroom that he would request bail for his clients once the case had been transferred to the High Court.