Korean restaurateur fined RM15,000 for hiring illegal

KOTA KINABALU: A Korean man was fined RM15,000, in default, five months in jail for hiring an illegal immigrant at his restaurant here.

Sessions Court judge Azreena Aziz imposed the fine on Park Moon Su, 47, after he admitted to employing the immigrant at Bab’s and Chinese Restaurant in Jalan Istiadat Kompleks Sukan Likas here at 8.35pm on August 26, 2017.

The immigrant was a woman from the Philippines.

The offence under Section 55B of the Immigration Act 1959/63 carries a fine of not less than RM10,000 but not more than RM50,000 or a jail term of up to 12 months or to both for each worker employed.

In mitigation, counsel Chau Chin Tang, who represented Park, told the court that the employee showed up with a fake identification card and asking for work from his client.

He also said that his client is married and has two children while the restaurant had been in operation for four years.

Park who pleaded guilty to the offence showed that he is remorseful and thus, Chau prayed for the court to impose a lenient fine without a custodial sentence.

Prosecuting officer from the Immigration Department Hamisah Puteh replied that Park, who had a previous conviction of allowing five illegal immigrants to stay in his premises, should have reflected on his mistake.

Park was fined RM5,000 for each immigrant harboured.

Therefore, Hamisah requested for a deterrent sentence to be imposed on the accused as a lesson not only to the accused but also to the would-be offenders.

Meanwhile, another restaurant operator claimed trial at the same court to hiring three illegal immigrants.

Ziad Abdullah Ismail, 34, who appeared before the judge, was accused of employing the immigrants at Maryam Restoran in Api-Api Centre here at 9pm on May 20, 2017.

Two of the illegal immigrants were Filipinos while the other was a woman from Indonesia, aged between 21 and 33.

Ziad faces a charge under Section 55B of the Immigration Act 1959/63.

The court fixed May 18 this year for trial and released Ziad on RM5,000 bail with RM3,000 to be deposited in two local sureties, pending disposal of the case.

He was not represented.