Heftier penalties sought for people smugglers
THE inclusion of whipping and imprisonment of more than 20 years for members of human trafficking and migrant smuggling syndicates are among the amendments proposed for the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act (Atipsom) 2007.
The act currently carries a jail sentence of 15 years, and a fine, or both, upon conviction. Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Division (D3) intel- ligence/operations officer Su- perintendent Cha Hoong Fong said the amendments were in the process of getting approval in Parliament.
“This matter has been discussed with the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Council, namely to look at stricter punishment against them (syndicates),” he said in the Ruang Bicara programme on Bernama TV on Friday.
Cha said the police had been using the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) to keep the criminals at bay.
“We began using it in 2019 to tackle these kinds of criminal activities, where it has a significant impact on them (syndicates) because it categorises them as organised crime, and makes it possible to cripple the syndicates,” said Cha.
He said under Sosma, members of the syndicate would be detained longer.
“A total of six migrant trafficking and smuggling syndicates were successfully crippled last year,” he said, adding that 146 cases involving human trafficking and migrant smuggling were recorded last year compared with 272 cases in 2019, which indicated the effectiveness of police enforcement in the matter.