DG should be answerable – CJ
KOTA KINABALU: Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Tan Sri Richard Malanjun, yesterday said the Director-General of Immigration should be answerable over the alleged sale of fake travel documents to foreigners.
Richard made the remark following the "confession" by four Pakistani nationals convicted by the lower court of possessing fake travel documents that they had bought the documents from immigration officials.
The four Pakistanis are Sartaj Khan, 22, Ibrar Khan Ibrahim Khan 22, Saleem Nawab, 32, and Iqbal Hussain Gul Wazir, 37, whose sentences imposed by the Sessions Court here were contested by the prosecution, resulting in longer jail terms for all the offenders.
Saleem Nawab had told the court that the documents were purchased for RM5,000 from an immigration official, which was arranged by a man named Sher Rahman.
However, he said Sher had absconded and gone back to Pakistan.
Meanwhile, another Pakistani, Sartaj Khan, told the court that he did not know if the person he had purchased the documents from was an i mmigration official or not.
He said he had never gone to the Immigration Department and did not know whether the documents were false or not.
The documents were purchased by the 22-year-old from a man named Amir, who is also a Pakistani and had already returned to Buner in Pakistan.
Asked by the Chief Judge as to why he came to Sabah, Sartaj replied that he was looking for work as there was no work back home.
Meanwhile, the third Pakistani who appeared during the hearing, Ibrar Khan Ibrahim Khan, told the court that he had met a person in Kota Kinabalu named Idris who told Ibrar that he could 'create' his passport.
Idris had only asked for RM1,000 to make the document.
Ibrar also told Richard that his "fake wife" was arranged by Idris, who handled everything.
He claimed the fake wife was from Tuaran.
When Richard asked about the whereabouts of Idris, Ibrar said the man had gone to Pakistan.
However, Ibrar claimed that Idris was not a Pakistani as he had a different accent.
Ibrar was detained in Menumbok on his way to Labuan, Kuala Lumpur and finally Pakistan.
Iqbal Hussain Gul Wazir, who had been in Sabah for a year, told the court that he had come via Kuala Lumpur to seek work here as his friends had told him that it was easier in Sabah.
He told the court that he had a friend called Bakthiar who made false passports with the fake wives for RM1,000.
Iqbal said the same woman's name had also been used for seven other forged documents.
Richard then said that Pakistanis in the state should be rounded up and asked to produce their valid passes.
The f ifth Pakistani, Sohrab Khan, denied any knowledge of purchasing forged documents, and told the Chief Judge that he himself had forged the documents.
All five men were charged with using forged documents, an offence under Section 471 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 465 of the same Code which carries a maximum jail term of two years and a fine,
Deputy public prosecutor Nik Syahril Ab Rahman, who prosecuted the case, argued that the sentences were inadequate, adding that there was an influx of foreig ners into the state, especially from Pakistan.
The court then enhanced the prison sentence of Sohrab from three months to 20 months.
Meanwhile Sartaj's term of imprisonment was also increased from three months to 18 months.
The prison term of Saleem was also enhanced from three months to 18 months, while Iqbal's prison term was increased from three months to 18 months, and Ibrar from three months to 20 months.
However, Richard set aside the RM10,000 fine for all the five accused.