51 charged over organised crime

Move marks largest number of people formally accused of such an offence in M’sia

A total of 51 individuals have been charged in the Sessions Court here with being part of an organised crime gang carrying out human smuggling activities since 2015 – the largest number of people charged with such an offence in Malaysia.

Security at the Kota Tinggi court complex was tight, with police personnel in full gear on guard inside and outside the courtroom.

A large number of family members of the accused were seen outside the court building as they were not allowed to enter.

Even Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay and state police CID chief Senior

Asst Comm Yusof Ahmad had to make their way to the building to ensure that the charging went smoothly.

The charges were read out to the accused – 24 Malaysians and 27 Indonesian and Myanmar nationals, including three with permanent resident status – in front of judge Zahilah Mohammad Yusoff yesterday.

According to the charge sheet, all 51 of them, including three women, were part of an organised crime group called Geng Otong between Jan 1, 2015, and June 4 this year.

They are accused of committing an offence under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code (Act 574), which carries a maximum imprisonment of 20 years upon conviction.

All nodded their heads after the charges were read out to them individually, but no pleas were recorded.

The offence is not bailable and the judge set Aug 27 for next mention.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Idham Abd Ghani, Rohaiza Abd Rahman and Izzat Fauzan are prosecuting the case, while Datin Freda Sabapathy, Hassan Zaid, Muzamil Hariri and Mohd Zubairi Salleh are representing four of the accused, with the rest unrepresented.

Meanwhile in Teluk Intan, 11 individuals were charged in the Sessions Court with involvement in organised crime over the past two years.

The alleged Halim Gang leader – 41-year-old Halim Mohd Nordin – and 10 others nodded their understanding after the charges were read out to them separately before judge Norita Mohd Ardan, Bernama reported.

The other accused are Kamaruzzaman Md Ali, Ismail Ngah Man, Omer Samsudin, Kee Yeoh Song, Rahim Saring and Indonesian nationals only known as Suriyanto Mukmin, Budi, Yuda, Watiah and Yuliana, all aged between 33 and 66.

However, no plea was recorded.

According to the charge sheet, they were alleged to be members of the Halim Gang in the Bagan Datuk area between January 2018 and June 22 last year.

They were charged under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code (Act 574), which carries a jail term of at least five years and not more than 20 years, upon conviction.

Mohd Izhanudin Alias prosecuted while the accused were not represented.

The court did not offer bail and set Aug 7 for case mention.

All the accused were detained in a special operation dubbed “Ops Benteng” conducted by the Perak police to combat the smuggling of illegal immigrants beginning April 4.

According to a police source, three policemen in their 30s, who were arrested for allegedly being in cahoots with the migrant smuggling syndicate in Hutan Melintang, were being remanded until July 18 for further investigations.