RM50,000 fine for harbouring 10 illegals

KOTA KINABALU: A quantity surveyor’s assistant was slapped with a total fine of RM50,000 for allowing ten illegal immigrants to remain in a construction site.

Sessions Court Judge Azreena Aziz meted out the sentence on Rachel Chan Yuk Ting, 43, after the latter pleaded guilty to the charge, yesterday.

Rachel was fined RM5,000 in default three months’ jail for each illegal immigrant involved.

She had allowed three Indonesian men and seven Filipinos aged between 21 and 50 to stay at a hotel construction site along Jalan Tengku Abdul Rahman here at 9.55pm on May 16.

The offence, framed under Section 55E (1) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, carries a fine of not less than RM5,000 and not more than RM30,000, or a jail term of up to a year, or both, for each illegal immigrant involved, upon conviction.

In mitigation, Rachel, who was not represented, prayed for a lenient sentence and told the court that her management had installed a CCTV to prevent them from committing a similar offence.

Meanwhile, the prosecuting officer from the Immigration Department requested for an appropriate sentence to be imposed against the accused.

The judge also allowed Rachel’s application to pay the fine in installments and ordered for the first payment of RM20,000 to be paid yesterday.

Next payment of RM15,000 to be paid on September 25 and the balance of RM15,000 on October 25.