Iraqi jailed, fined over forged passport
KOTA KINABALU: An Iraqi was jailed for four months and fined RM5,000, in default, three months in jail by the Sessions Court here for possessing a forged passport.
Judge Elsie Primus imposed the sentence on Saif Saad Abd Zaid, 21, after he pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 12 (1)(a) of the Passport Act 1966.
The indictment provides for a maximum fine of RM10,000 or a jail term of up to five years, or both, upon conviction.
He was caught possessing the forged passport of the Kingdom of Bahrain at the Immigration Arrival Operation office at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) here at 11.30pm on July 13.
In mitigation, Saif Saad, with the help of an interpreter, prayed for a lenient sentence of a fine to be imposed against him on the grounds that he had family to support while prosecuting officer from the Immigration Department, Juachim Abel Majain, requested for a deterrent sentence to deter Saif Saad and would-be offenders from committing a similar offence.
Based on the facts of the case, Saif Saad had paid USD20,000 to get the Bahrain passport from a man called Abu Yasser.
Saif Saad had known Abu Yasser through social media application Facebook and the man (Abu Yasser) had planned his journey to Auckland, New Zealand in order to obtain a refugee status there.
He took a flight from here to Brunei and then to Auckland, New Zealand. However, in Brunei his passport was detected to be a forged and thus, he was returned back to Kota Kinabalu.